


Rebellion

by Evilbunnygirl93



Category: Alice Nine, Dir en grey, the GazettE
Genre: Angst, Fighting, M/M, PTSD, Rape, Rebels, Violence, War, Wasteland, discontinued
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-06
Updated: 2016-11-06
Packaged: 2018-08-29 08:54:11
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 14
Words: 65,509
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8483209
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Evilbunnygirl93/pseuds/Evilbunnygirl93
Summary: Since they were children, many were taught that they would become one of five people: slaves, workers, soldiers, historians, or producers for The Pride. A small group broke away from this and started fighting against them to free the people of the country. A young man who is searching for his brother. A raven who wants revenge for his family’s death. A traitor who falls in love. A slave who learns to smile. A prince who wants peace.(Currently discontinued. But i have thought about picking it back up in the future)





	1. Prologue

            “Akira!” A young woman called. A little boy ran down the steps of his home and saw his mother smiling at him in the living room.

“Are we going mother?”

She smiled. “Yes, we’re going, but first you have to do something.”

“Hmm, what is it?”

She lead him to the kitchen where men in white coats were drawing blood from his older brother.

“You’re next Akira.” Their father said. The young boy sat in the chair his brother got out of.

“Why are they doing this?” He asked swinging his legs as they got his arm ready.

“To see if you’re ready to be a soldier or not.” One of the men said.

“Really? That’s so cool!”

Another started talking to the parents. “Both of your sons seem very healthy. They’ll make it as soldiers.”

The parents shook their heads and smiled at the their two sons who were laughing at their Band-Aids.

“Is that all?” The mother asked.

“Yep, we’re finished.” One of them said. The mother led them out, then walked back into the kitchen.

“Akira, are you ready to go?”

“Yes.” He said running to his mother.

The eldest pouted. “I want to go too.”

“Next time sweetie.”She said. She picked her youngest son up and headed out the door and waited for the bus to arrive. When it did, she handed him two city passes, then found a seat for the two of them

“Do you know what you’re getting him?”

“Yep! I saw it when dad took me the last time.”

            Soon, they were in the city walking down the road.

“Keep a hold of my hand alright?”

“Ok mother.” He said.

They went through several shops buying gifts and looking around at stores.

“There it is mom!” The young boy shouted as he pointed at a jewelry store. They walked and he walked around until he found the desired item. The mother looked through the glass and smiled. Two lockets on silver necklaces, both had blue roses on them, and were made for couples. The mother laughed.

“Are you sure you want to get these?”

“Yep!”

“Alright then. Give me the money you saved up and let’s see if you have enough.”

            Back at home, the eldest son was scowling as he stared out the window. The father smiled and sat next to him.

“You want to talk about it?”

“No.”

The father laughed and petted his son’s head before walking out of the room. The boy continued to stare out the window for several hours until the sound of the front door opening caught his attention.

“We’re home!” The mother shouted, but the boy didn’t move. Akira ran and smiled at his older brother.

“Hey come play with me.”

The brother scowled at his little brother and walked past him.

“Hey, play with me!”

“Leave me alone!” The elder yelled pushing his brother to the ground.

“Yutaka. What’s gotten into you?” The mother asked walking in.

“I just wanted to play.” Akira whimpered. He got up and ran upstairs to his room to cry.

“You always take him to the city! I never get to go! It’s not fair!” The boy shouted.

The mother sighed. “Honey, it’s because tomorrow is you birthday. He went to get you your present. Did you forget?”

Yutaka’s face got red. “Um…no!”

The mother laughed. “Ok, but don’t you think you should go apologize to your brother.”

The boy took small steps until his mother left the room, then he ran up the steps, making his mother laugh. He ran into his brother’s room, where he found the young one curled into a ball on his bed crying. As Yutaka go closer, he saw his brother holding a wrapped up box against his chest.

“Aki.” He whispered. The younger brother looked at him red eyes. Yutaka climbed on the bed and gave his brother a hug. “I’m sorry. Please don’t cry.”

_“You-you’re not mad?”_

“I was, but I’m over it now. So stop crying ok.”

Akira sat up and wiped his eyes before hugging his brother back.

            Soon, the next day came and the house was filled joy as they sung happy birthday to their son. Yutaka smiled as he started opening presents and laughed at some of the things his mother bought. After he got them all open, Akira walked up and smiled as he handed the small box over. The brother got excited and opened it up. He smiled at the lockets.

“Thanks Akira!” He shouted. “But why did you get two?”

“Well, they’re couples lockets. One for you and one for your future girlfriend.”

“I don’t want a girlfriend! They have cooties.”

Their parents laughed. Yutaka hooked one of the necklaces around his neck, then he jumped off and wrapped the other on his brother’s neck.

“I’d rather you have it.”

The parents smiled at each other then at their two boys. Akira smiled big and hugged his brother, then looked up.

“Can we put our pictures in them now?”

The mother laughed. “Of course. Let’s go find some.”

            Several days have passed and the brothers continued to hang out together. They went to their normal spot on the hill behind the neighborhood, but today was different. They watched as men in strange uniforms marched behind the neighborhood.

“Let’s get a closer look.” Akira said. They ran down the hill and up close to see the men marching. Then a horse stopped in front of them and a man jumped off it.

“What are you boys doing here?”

“Looking at the strange men. Why are they dressed like that?” Akira asked.

“They are soldiers. That’s their uniform.”

“Oh.” The two boys said.

“A guy in white said that we might be soldiers one day.” Yutaka said.

“Really?”

“Yep.” Akira said. “Say, why are you out here?”

“Exercising.” He kneeled down and rubbed the younger boy’s cheek. “So what’s your name?”

“No.” Yutaka said. “Mother said we shouldn’t tell strangers our names.”

“He’s not going to hurt us are you?” Akira asked.

“I’m a general. Of course I won’t hurt you. I’m here to protect you.”

“I’m Akira.”

“Aki!”

“Akira huh? What’s your neighborhood number?”

“Don’t.” Yutaka ordered.

“Twelve.”

“We have to go.” The oldest said, grabbing his brother’s hand.

“Wait.” Akira pulled his arm away.

“What’s your house number?”

“Four.”

“Four huh?” He said rubbing his hand down Akira’s shoulder. He gripped the boy’s waist and started raising his shirt up.

“Stop it!” Yutaka said pulling the general’s hand off.

The general smiled. “You want to see something cool about being a soldier?”

“Yeah!” Akira shouted.

“No!” Yutaka shouted. The general picked the youngest up and sat him on the horse.

“You want to go for a ride.

“Yeah!”

“Akira we have to go home now! Get off that horse!”

They ignored the older brother and the general got on the horse. He tugged the reins, making the horse gallop away. Yutaka ran after it, but after a few feet, he realized he was no match for the creature. He ran up the hill and back to his house. He ran in crying, running to his father.

“Whoa, whoa, what’s wrong?”

_“Akira! He took Akira!”_

“Who took him?” His father shouted.

_“A general. We just wanted to see the men in weird outfits. He was touching Akira weirdly. He took Aki for a ride on the horse. I told him not too! The general was scary! He took Aki!”_

A glass breaking caught their attention. The turned and saw the mother covering her mouth as tears flowed down her cheeks.

“Up to your room.” The father ordered.

_“But Akira…”_

“To your room!”

Yutaka flinched, but ran up the stairs.

            Akira held onto the reins as the horse started going faster. The general smiled as he moved one of his hands under the boy’s shirt.

“My, my, I think my horse is getting tired. Let’s stop for a bit.” He said taking control of the reins. He led the horse to a tree where nobody was in sight. He helped the boy off before tying the horse off.

“You look hot, let’s get rid of that for you.” He said lifting the boys shirt. Akira felt chills go down his spine, but he let the man remove his shirt and they walked under the shade where they sat down. The general sat in front of him and grabbed the boy’s sides as he rubbed his thumbs over Akira’s nipples.

“Um…wh-what are you doing?”

The man smiled. “Do you like it?”

The boy flushed and turned his head away. “It feels weird.”

The general smiled and kissed the boy on the lips. Akira went to object, but the man slipped his tongue in. The young boy cried out as was forced onto his back and his arms pinned above his head. He screamed as soon as the man pulled away, but was slapped in the face. The general started sucking down the boy’s neck, down his body, leaving mark after mark. He raised up to see the boy crying, biting his lip until it bled. He smiled and pulled Akira’s pants down a little. He lifted the boy hips and went down on the boy’s manhood.

 _“No! Stop it!”_ He begged. He cried and cried. The sound of a car stopping  caught the man’s attention and he saw a lieutenant get out.

“General!” He shout running to the man. He gasped when he saw the young boy crying, but looked back at the general. “The emperor needs to speak with you at once.”

The man sighed, but pulled the boy’s pants back up and stood up. He pulled the boy to his feet and pushed him onto the lieutenant. “Neighborhood twelve, house four. Get him home and call for a doctor to give some medicine.”

“Yes sir.”The lieutenant waited for the general to take off with the horse before picking him up. “Let’s get you home.”

            Yutaka was sitting on the stairs listening to his mother crying for the past hour. He felt as if he should have done more. He should have protected his brother. Knocking at the door caught their attentions, the father got up and walked to it. He opened it gasped.

“Akira!” He shouted taking his motionless son from the man.

“A doctor will be here soon.”

 _“What did you do to him?”_ The mother yelped taking him from the father.

“It wasn’t me ma’m. Don’t worry, I’ll inform my superiors about it.”

Yutaka rushed down to see his brother covered in bruises and silently crying. Akira looked over and cried out, kicking out of his mother’s grasp. He fell to the floor, but he jumped up and tackled Yutaka to the ground.

_“Yutaka! I was so scared! I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you! I’m sorry!”_

Yutaka hugged his brother as the younger cried and cried his heart out. The parents sat by their children, watching them comfort each other.

“Excuse me.” They looked to see a man in a white coat come in. “What happened?”

The lieutenant spoke up. “He needs to forget the past twenty-four hours.”

The doctor shook his head and sat his bag down to go through it. He mixed a few liquids together, then filled a syringe with it and kneeled behind the crying boy. He moved Akira’s hair away from his neck and stuck the needle in, making the boy gasp. He whimpered for a minute as it was injected into him, but then he slumped over, passing out. The mother began crying on her husband’s shoulder.

“He’ll think it’s all a dream and will forget about it.” The doctor said. “He may be little upset when he wakes up, but just tell him that it was a nightmare.”

The parents shook their heads, but Yutaka glared at the men. He knew that they weren’t going to do a thing to the general. That was the first time he truly hated the law.

            A couple of weeks past, Akira went back to normal, forgetting the events that occurred, but Yutaka made sure to stay close to his brother and go everywhere with him . Yutaka wouldn’t let him go far from the house anymore, but made sure to play with him a lot so he wouldn’t miss the hill. One day, they decided to go inside early and get some snacks. They looked for their parents, but when they couldn’t find them, the two went upstairs to their parent’s bedroom. As they got closer, they heard moaning. They looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders, but opened the door. They saw their parents naked on the bed, their father thrusting in their mother. She moaned and begged for more. The two boys watched as their parents continued until they collapsed.

“Mommy? Daddy?” Akira yelped running to them. They gasped and quickly covered themselves up. “Are you ok?”

“We’re fine kiddo.” Their father said out of breath.

“What were you doing?” Yutaka asked as they got onto the bed.

“Well…” The mother hummed. “We’re trying to get you guys another brother or a sister.”

They looked at each other. Akira mumbled. “But I don’t want another one. I like it just being me and Yutaka.”

The parents laughed and the mother spoke again. “We know sweetie, but we would like another.”

The boy grumbled. “But that means I have to share Yutaka!”

Their parents laughed again.

“You’ll be happy to share your love. Just wait and see.” The father said.

“Fine, but if she tries to steal my Yutaka, then she better remember that I have the other locket, not her.”

“What make you thinks it’s a girl?” The father.

“Well, you already got us. If you have another boy…then you’ll be replacing us.”

Their parents sighed. The mother looked at her husband. He shook his head. “Boys, you remember those men telling you that you were going to be soldiers?”

They shook their heads yes.

“Well, in a few weeks, they’ll be stopping by to pick you up to live in a new home. There you will learn how to fight and take care of yourselves. We won’t be taking care of you from then on.”

They looked at their parents with confused faces.

“You’ll see what we’re talking about next week when they come to pick up the slaves. Everyone in the neighborhood stands in their yards as the slaves are picked up and taken. It’ll be the same for you two in three weeks.”

“That means we can’t play anymore?” Akira whimpered.

“I’m sorry, but yes, that’s what it means. Don’t worry. Being a soldier is a great honor. We’re proud to call you our sons.”

“But we won’t get to see you anymore.”  Yutaka muttered.

“Maybe after your training is over, you can come visit us.” Their mother said.

The boys eyes teared up and they hugged their parents.

 _“But we don’t want to go!”_ Akira cried.

“We know sweetie, but it’s the law.”

“We love you two very much.” The father said.

 _“We love you too dad!”_ Yutaka cried.

 _“We love you mom!”_ Akira cried.

Their parents looked at each and smiled, holding back their tears.


	2. Chapter 2

            “Wake up.” A frightened woman said, shaking her son. “Wake up.”

“Mmm, mommy?”

“Come sweetie, we have to go outside now.”

“Why?” The young boy asked tiredly.

“It’s the law.” She said, picking him up in her arms. Even though he was old enough to walk, she carried him downstairs and met her husband, who was holding their second son. The younger boy had fallen asleep on his father’s shoulder, cuddled up against him. Their parents held back tears as they kissed both of their sons before walking out. It was early morning, the sun wouldn’t be up for another three hours. They walked out and looked down the road at all their neighbors walking out with their children, hugging them and kissing them as well. The parents  sat the kids down, but the mentioned father couldn’t put his youngest down.

“Come on, you have to.” The mother said with a shaky voice. He made his youngest stand by his brother, who took his hand and smiled at him. Soon the head lights of the cars the neighborhood feared were approaching. Mother’s cries could be heard and it frightened the children more. The cars and a large van came to a halt and several men in military uniforms got out of them. They split up and walked to each end of the neighborhood, then started walking in wards. They looked at the children, then talked to the parents. Cries could be heard as they started taking the teenagers away and throwing them into the van. A tall man in a suit finally made it to the mentioned couple and stared down at the two boys.

“Their ages?” His voice was hoarse and emotionless.

“E-eleven and ten, why?” The father mumbled. The man looked down and grabbed the ten year old boy’s hair, pulling him into the air. His scream filled the air and his parents begged for the man to stop. The older son started crying as ran up to the man and started kicking his leg.

_“Leave my brother alone!”_

The man smirked as he kicked the young boy off, but then he was tackled by the father, making him drop the young boy. The commotion caught the other’s attentions and they rushed over to help their friend. They pulled the father off and threw him to the side.

“On your knees.” One ordered the father. He hesitated, but slowly got to his knees and just as quick, a gun was placed at his head. The mother’s scream was silent compared to the gunshot. She grabbed her sons and hugged them tightly.

 _“Stay away!”_ She screamed. _“They’re not slaves! They’re soldiers!”_

The first man punched her in the face, making her let go of her sons as she flew back. He picked the ten year old up again, but by his waist this time. The mother sat back up as she heard her sons screaming, but was soon back on the ground when another man fired his gun. The older son went to attack one of the men, but was kicked back.

 _“Yutaka!”_ The younger boy screamed, reaching out for his brother.

The elder reached out and grunted as he tried to sit up. His vision was blurry, but was soon able to make out his brother being thrown into a black car. He gasped.

            _“Akira!”_ An older brunette screamed as he popped up in bed.

A hand was place on his shoulder. “Baby what’s wrong? What happened?”

He looked over to find his chestnut haired boyfriend sitting up beside him.

“What’s going on? What happened? Is everything alright? Are you okay?” Many voices shouted as people made their way into the cabin. The sweaty brunette rubbed his forehead as he looked around at the people.

“Sorry,” He gasped. “Just a bad dream.”

They kissed their teeth and moaned as they walked out of the cabin, except for one. A raven haired man walked closer and sat on the edge of the bed.

“Was it the same dream, Kai?”

 The brunette shook his head yes. “It won’t stop.”

“Do you think it means something Aoi?” The chestnut man asked.

“I don’t think so Ruki. We have to get up in a few hours. Try and get some more rest.”

Kai shook his head. “I’m sorry.”

Aoi stood up and walked to the door. “It’s ok. A lot of us know how you feel. Just get back to sleep.” He closed the door, leaving them in complete silence. The brunette laid back down and Ruki laid his head on the other’s chest. He watched as Kai rubbed the blue rose on his locket necklace with his thumb.

“Now that I think about it,” Ruki whispered. “I’ve never seen you open it. Why is that?”

Kai sighed. “It brings back too many painful memories.”

“Then why keep it?”

“I’ve changed since I was eleven. If I run into him, he’ll remember the necklace and…”

Ruki saw the pain in his lover’s eyes.

“He’s all I got left. I have to find him Ru.”

“You’ll find him. I know you will.”

            “Father, you’re such a bastard!”

“Silence! How dare you speak to me that way Kouyou!”

The honey blonde dressed in a purple outfit scowled and clenched his teeth. “Forgive me, my lord.”

“Better.” The emperor said. He was a large man, mostly muscle. His black hair was long and put back in a ponytail, he had a strong goatee, and he was very handsome. He was tall, he had a deep voice, and his eyes were very sharp. He was sitting in his thrown, listening to his son’s argument about the slaves again. He was becoming very annoyed by it. “You may speak.”

“My lord, please. They are human beings as well. They have rights like us.”

“Kouyou.” The emperor groaned. He stood up and walked to his son. “Come.”

The honey blonde followed his father to the end of the grand room and out the majestic doors. They walked down the large, gold and red hallway to another large door to another room. In it was the library with old men and their apprentices working on papers. They bowed on their knees as the emperor and his son walked by. They walked to a wall where a giant scroll covered it.

“What do you see here my son?”

“A large, useless piece of paper.”

The emperor sighed. “No. Here is the law of the land. We are the Pride, we control the land and the people. Next are the Nobles, they are the rich who are allowed to marry who they want, when they want, if they want. Then the City, where we are generous enough to give the poor four years to find someone they want to live with for the rest of their lives. Next is the Neighborhood, where they raise the children who may become slaves, workers, soldiers, historians, or producers. This is law. This is how we live in peace.”

“How is this peace father? The slaves are tortured, the workers and soldiers are always dying, historians can’t leave the library, and the producers have to suffer every year of losing a child.”

“We have slaves as company when we are widowed or looking for pleasure from someone other than our companions. This prevent cheating and divorce. The workers die because of their own carelessness, soldiers die protecting us. That’s why we have the Neighborhoods and producers, to make children to fill up the dead spaces. Historians, keep track of all records of the living and dead and who does what. There is no fighting. This is peace.”

“No fighting? Then what do you call the Rebellion? They fight to free everyone under our control. We’re not in peace, we’re in a war because of this stupid law.”

“War?” The emperor started laughing. “We’re not in a war. They’re just a small group who disagrees with us. There will always be rebellions, but the law will always stand. The Pride will always win. They just need to be exterminated, which can be easily done. But why waste the man power when a real war could break out at any time.”

“They’re not bugs, they’re people. How can you be so cruel father—”Kouyou was cut off by a slap. He landed on his side, but glared up at his father who just struck him.

_“How dare you address me that way! It is lord to you when we are in the presence of others.”_

“So the historians are only people when you’re showing your power?”

“Power is everything Kouyou. Why I can’t get it through that thick skull of yours is beyond me. Now on your feet.”

The honey blonde stood back up and followed his father, listening to him rant until they made it back to the Royal chamber. The emperor sat back on his thrown and looked at his son’s swollen face.

“Come here Kouyou.”

The honey blonde kept his eyes to the floor as he walked up the steps to his father. The emperor rubbed his son’s cheek and stood up. He placed his forehead on his son’s forehead and rubbed his other hand down the honey blonde’s side.

“You look exactly like your mother. Your beautiful face, your strong will of what you believe in, and your body is just as frail.” He whispered moving his hand to his son’s ass. Kouyou gasped as his father squeezed his backside.

“Father, please don’t.”

The emperor kept rubbing and squeezing it as his left hand slowly moved down the honey blonde’s side. He slid it into Kouyou’s shirt and started feeling his son’s chest. His right hand slipped into the honey blonde’s pants as he closed the gap between them with his lips. Kouyou clenched the emperor’s sleeves as the elder slipped his tongue in.

“My lord.”

The emperor pulled away and glared at the person who interrupted him. “What?”

“My lord’s queen and prince Saga have returned from their trip. She wishes to see you when you’re not busy.”

“Tell her I’m very busy.” He said before attacking Kouyou’s neck.

“Father, You may not be busy, but I still have your errands to run.”

The emperor sighed and pulled off. “Of course.”

Kouyou quickly pulled away and rushed out of the chambers.

“You know,” The emperor started. “If I had known that he was going to turn out so beautiful, I would have waited instead of marrying the queen. I would have taken him instead.”

“My lord?” The messenger questioned.

“Tell the queen I’ll meet her in our bedroom and I will speak to Saga later.”

“Yes my lord.”

            Kouyou stomped out of the Royal chamber scowling. He glanced at his slave, a man his age wearing just a cloth around his waist covering his privates and shackles on his wrists. The honey blonde motioned the other to follow and headed down the hall.

“May I ask what happened master?”

“Nothing Shou. Where am I going to now?”

“General Sakai’s chamber. You two have a meeting about the Rebellion’s attack on one of the eastern towns. They took all the live stock, burned the houses and the fields down.”

“How many were killed?”

“A few of ours. Many of theirs. That’s all I know about that.”

“Good job Shou.”

“M-master?” The slave stopped.

Kouyou stopped and turned to find Shou looking around.

“What is it?”

The slave walked up and touched the spot on the prince’s neck that the emperor had suck on. “May I cover it up.”

“Quickly.”

Shou smiled and started sucking on the spot, making it his. After a few minutes, he finally pulled off and they continued walking.

            They walked up to a set of doors minutes later. Shou took his place on the bench beside it as the prince walked into the room. His eyes grew wide, but glared at the general in disgust. The large man was sitting in his chair, legs spread open as his slave sucked on his member.

“You dare welcome me in such standards.” Kouyou growled.

Sakai laughed. “My prince, this is normal to walk upon in this castle. Everyone knows that, you just can’t accept it with the way you think.”

The honey blonde glared at him again. “Either stop now, or walk to my chamber to have this meeting.”

Sakai scowled at him and huffed. He pushed his slave off, making him roll down the stairs that lead up to the general’s chair. “Filthy creature.”

The general walked down and stepped on the slave’s stomach, making him gasp. Sakai pushed all his weight down making the slave yelp.

“ _Enough!”_ Kouyou ordered. Sakai huffed again as he stepped off the slave’s body and moved forward to the table. The honey blonde looked at the slave gasping for air on the floor. His frail body was covered in scars, bruises, and though he had a lot of muscle, he looked very unhealthy.

“When was the last you fed him?”

“We’re not here to discuss that. Now sit, we don’t have all day.”

They sat across from each other at the table, Sakai hit a button and a map appeared.  

“The rebellion is striking the outer villages first. Stealing livestock and food. We have a few theories why they’re doing so. One: they have little left and are in need of some, two: they’re trying to reduce our food supply, three: it’s both. The king wants us to use as less men as possible to protect the villages and their farms. His given us a limit and I’ve already calculated how much to send to each.”

“Why don’t we just talk to them? Make a compromise to where they won’t attack and we’ll give them a little bit of our food.”

“Kouyou, we’re not feeding the enemy here, we’re stopping them. You’re father has you doing this to hopefully teach you how to rule this kingdom when he’s gone. A little advice, learn or at least pretend to be what your father wants. At least then he’ll let you call him father in public. Now, as I was saying.”

            They continued on with meeting, discussing plans for the Rebellions attacks, but came up with the same answer. Fighting. They finished up and stood up to part ways.

“You’ll be at the party tonight, correct?”

“Of course. My brother has been gone for a month. I’d like to see him.”

The general smiled. “Be wary.”

Kouyou gave him a puzzled look, but the general turned away and walked to his slave. He kicked the young man on the floor, making him whimper.

“Who said you could lay there this whole time? Get your ass up!”The slave shook as he got to his feet and the general grabbed a fist full of his hair, pushing him towards the door and towards Kouyou. “Get to my room. I’ll punish you after the rest of my meetings.”

The slave stumbled and started falling, but the prince caught him.

 _“You dare touch your majesty?”_ The general yelled.

“Silence.” Kouyou ordered. “I’ll take him to your room. I’m going to feed him and you are _not_ going to harm him from today. Do I make myself clear?”

Sakai growled, but turned away. “Crystal.”

“General!”

The elder faced the prince.

“Never turn your back on me.”

He smiled. “Now you’re talking like your father. Of course my prince, please forgive me.” He bowed.

The honey blonde glared at him, but turned and helped the slave out the doors.

“Be very wary my prince.” The general grinned.

            Kouyou walked out with the slave, surprising Shou.

“Master?”

“Take him Shou.”

The slave took hold of the limping slave and followed his master. “May I ask where we are going?”

“To the general’s room. He also needs to be fed. When we get there, go to kitchen and order food to be brought to him.”

“Yes master.”

They walked the rest of the way in silence and when they walked into the bedroom, they saw all of the general’s slaves sitting about, ready to be used. They only moved to bow to the prince, but he ignored them and had Shou lay the slave on the couch, then leave. Kouyou sat on the edge and moved the hair out of the slave’s face.

“What’s your name?”

The brunette just stared up at him with an emotionless face. Kouyou growled, but before he could say anything else.

“He can’t speak.” A woman spoke up. He turned to find that it had actually came from a young teenage girl. “Forgive me for speaking out of place. I didn’t want you to hurt him.”

The honey blonde bobbed his head and turned with a smile. “You can’t speak, or you refuse to?”

“Neither.” A male had spoken up this time. “He was a slave since he was very young. Younger than we were. He was ten when they took him.”

Kouyou’s eyes got wide. “The age for slaves is sixteen.”

“That’s why he doesn’t speak. He wasn’t taught the laws. He was traumatized.”

The prince looked down at the lifeless creature below him. He gently petted the slave beneath him. “Poor thing.”

“Master.”

Kouyou turned and saw Shou walking in with another slave carrying a tray of food. He sat it down on the table beside the couch then left them alone again. The prince grabbed a plate and picked some food off with the fork. He placed it at the slave’s lips.

“Open.” He did as was told and the honey slipped the food in. “Eat.”

With every fork full, the prince had to tell him what to do so he would do it. Soon the food was gone and the slave was sleeping.

“I want him to tell me his name.” Kouyou said with a smile. “I’ll get him to speak again.”

“Master?” Shou spoke up.

The prince stood up and saw the sadness in his slave’s eyes. He smiled and rubbed the ashy blonde’s cheek. “Come, we must get ready for my brother’s return party.”

            They made it back to the prince’s bedroom and Shou immediately walked to the closet to get his master’s clothes out. The prince easily slipped out of his clothes and walked up behind his slave. He wrapped his arms around the ashy blonde’s waist and pressed his lips against Shou’s neck.

“Master.” The ashy blonde moaned. He was turned and pushed into the wall before his lips were attacked by the prince’s. Shou wrapped his arms around Kouyou’s neck and kissed back. The prince pulled away to kiss down the slave’s neck and rub against him at the same time. Shou moaned out.

Kouyou pulled off and smiled. “You were jealous earlier weren’t you?”

The ashy blonde blushed. “Yes.”

“Good.” The prince pulled him into another kiss.

“I see you’re enjoying him.”

Kouyou pulled away to find his father standing at the doorway.

“My lord.” Shou muttered getting on his hands and knees. The emperor walked in and rubbed his son’s cheek.

“The swelling has gone down. I’m glad I didn’t hit you that hard. There would have been a huge bruise there by now.” The emperor smiled. “You truly take after your mother. Forgive my actions earlier, I was entranced by a memory from long ago.”

The emperor walked to the closet and grabbed black pants, a light purple shirt, and a dark purple coat. He handed them to his son and smiled.

“I’ll see you later then.” Kouyou said.

“Don’t be late.”

The son watched as his father left then lifted Shou to his feet. “Go to bed early. This party will probably last a while.”

“Yes, my master.”

The honey blonde lifted the slave’s head looked him in the eyes. “How many time do I have to tell you? Kouyou, when nobody’s around.”

Shou smiled and blushed. “Kouyou.”

The prince placed another kiss on his slave’s lips.

             Kouyou walked into the ball room a found that it had already filled up with guests and the castles’ residents. Both women and men watched as he walked down the room towards his father.

“My lord.” The prince bowed.

The emperor smiled. “Sit my son.”

The prince bobbed his head and took a seat beside his father.

“Sakai told me that he discussed the problem with the Rebellion with you. Did you learn anything?”

“Yeah. All we do is fight.”

His father sighed. “Not here.”

“You brought it up.”

The emperor went to speak, but then the doors opened up to let the queen and her son in. Everyone bowed as they walked past them and up to the thrown where the emperor and his son stood.

“My queen, how was your trip?” The emperor asked, hugging his wife.

“Fine, but I wish you were there with me.”

He laughed and smiled at Saga. “We’ll talk tomorrow morning.”

Saga bowed his head and smiled.

“Continue.” He said towards the guests. “You two, go have fun, we’ll join you in a little bit.”

“Yes my lord.” Uruha said.

“Yes father.” Saga said. The honey blonde looked at his brother, then at his father, but quickly walked away.

            He walked out to the balcony and looked out at the night sky.

“If you wouldn’t fight the laws, then you could call him father in public as well.”

Kouyou turned to find Saga there. “Hello brother.”

“Tch, don’t call me that.” The younger scowled at him. “I’d rather be dead than considered your brother. Unfortunately, we share the same father.”

The honey blonde sighed. “What do you want Saga?”

The prince smiled and walked towards his half brother. He suddenly pushed Kouyou into the wall and held him by the neck.

“Let go.”

“What are you going do to, scream? It’ll just prove to father how weak you are.”

The honey blonde glared at him, but gasped when he felt the other’s hand on his crotch. Saga leaned closer to whisper in his brother’s ear.

“When I become emperor, and we both know I will, I’m going to make you into my slave. I’m going torture you, fuck you, and degrade you every night.”

“I doubt you will become emperor.”

“Saga!” They turned to find the queen glaring at them. “Not now. Come, the both of you. Your father wishes to speak with you.”

The younger prince let go and allowed Kouyou to breath. They followed her to a group of men that the emperor was talking to. A slave handed them wine as they entered the group and they sipped as they began speaking.

“Those savages have destroyed so much.” The queen said. “They’ve taken so much from us. Be thankful that the emperor knows how to handle them.”

They group agreed and laughed a little, except for Kouyou. He was breathing heavily, swaying a little, and rubbing his head.

“Now my dear emperor—”The queen was cut off when a wine glass shattered on the floor as Kouyou fell to his knees. The room got quiet except for the emperor, who kneeled beside the elder prince.

“My son, what’s wrong?” He asked.

“I-I’m sorry. I just got lightheaded. I haven’t ate today so that might be why.”

“Get him to a table and bring him some food.” The emperor ordered.

“What are you waiting for? Get him to a table!” General Sakai shouted, pushing his slave towards the prince. The slave helped Kouyou up and led him to the closest table to sit down.

“Thank you.” The prince said with a smiled. The slaves eyes got wide and he backed away to quickly return to the general. Kouyou drunk some water and rubbed his head as he waited, but it wasn’t too long before food was placed in front of him. He started eating, listening to everyone’s comments around him.

“He’s such a brat.” A woman whispered. “He couldn’t even wait for every to gather in the dining hall.”

“I bet the lightheadedness was a lie.” A man this time.

“He’s pretending to be as weak as his mother.” Another woman. “What a disgrace to her name.”

He silenced them when he suddenly started coughing. He grabbed his ribs as the coughing got worse and then he fell off the chair. Once again, his father rushed to his side.

“What’s wrong?”

The prince couldn’t answer, he started vomiting. He gripped his father’s sleeve as he tried to breath.

“Breath Kouyou!”

He coughed again, this time he started puking up blood.

 _“Get a doctor!”_ The queen screamed.


	3. Chapter 3

            Kai was writing on a clipboard as he walked past the sheep they took from the last town they raided.

“So?”

The brunette turned to find Aoi walking up to him with a smile. “We got ten cows, two bulls, eight sheep, four horses and twelve chickens.”

“No roosters.”

“Nope, we weren’t able to catch any.”

The raven shook his head. “How many trips do you think It will take to get these back to the main headquarters?”

“At least two. That’ll give Hiroto time to get back. We should send most of them back on the first delivery anyways.”

“You think so?”

“Yeah, look at them. They’re all exhausted. They want to go home and see their families. We’ve been gone for over a month. We’re running out supplies. The well has more mud than water and the desert heat is getting worse. It’s time to head home.”

Aoi smiled. “I was thinking the exact same thing.”

“Hmm?” Kai looked at his friend and raised his eyebrow.

“I need someone to think like me, in case anything happens, you can take over.”

“I really wish you would stop talking like that.”

The raven giggled. “So where’s your boyfriend?”

“Oh, messing with the horses I guess. Probably naming them. He already named everything else.”

“He shouldn’t get attached. He’s knows it’s all for food, except for the horses.”

Kai laughed. “Oh no, he knows. The names of the cows are Hamburger, T-bone, New York strip, and so on.”

Aoi smiled and shook his head as he looked down the hill at the horses. He saw Ruki practically hugging one of their heads as he petted it. “He’s so short.”

“Don’t let him hear that.”

They both laughed for a minute, but continued talking. “How’s he been acting?”

“Aoi.” The brunette whined. “I thought we were over this.”

“We are, but you know the higher ups told us to keep a watchful eye on him.”

“Yeah, like a year ago. Things have changed.”

“But they still don’t trust him.”

Kai sighed and looked down at his lover. “Look at that smile Aoi. Does he look like a traitor?”

The raven looked at the chestnut and sighed. “that’s why they told me to keep an eye on him. It’s because they know you love him, they think you’re too blind to see pass his face.”

“Aoi!”

“But I see the same thing.” The raven smiled at his friend. “Unfortunately, I have to keep sending reports about his behavior.”

“He’s the same.” Kai whispered. Aoi watched as the brunette walked down the hill towards his lover. He wrapped his arms around the chestnut’s chest and hugged him. Ruki turned and wrapped his arms around the brunette’s neck, then pulled him down into a kiss. The raven smiled, then headed down the opposite side of the hill and back to the cabin in the camp where the others were resting.

            _“Shinya! Shinya!”_ A young boy screamed, reaching for his older brother as he ran towards the other.

 _“Stay back Taka!”_ The brother ordered as he was thrown into a car. A tall man grabbed the younger brother and dragged him into the building they stopped at. He was dragged through a few hallways to a large door where he was thrown into. He landed face first onto the floor, he jolted when he heard the doors shut, but he stayed still.

“Stand.” A deep voice sounded. The young boy shook, but got to his feet and kept his head down. He heard footsteps getting closer, making him shiver. The young boy looked up and gulped at the size of the man in front of him.

“I may have some use for you.”

            Ruki’s eyes popped open and he sat up in bed. He looked over to find his lover sleeping peacefully beside him. The chestnut stepped out of bed and walked out into the cold night. He walked out a few feet as he looked up at the clear, starry sky. He took a deep breath as a gust of wind blow past him.

“What are you doing out here?”

Ruki turned to find a man holding a gun, glaring at him. “Getting some fresh air.”

“Oh really?” He asked, raising his gun.

“Yes.”

“Put that down.” Aoi ordered as he walked up to them. The man did so, but continued glaring at him. “Go to your cabin Ruki.”

The chestnut bobbed his head and started walking back to his cabin. He stepped in to find Kai still sleeping, but he slipped into the bed and scooted against the brunette.

“Mmm? Ru?”

“Sorry, I just want to be held.”

Kai wrapped his arms around his lover and took a deep breath before falling back to sleep. Ruki shivered at the warmth, but smiled as he closed his eyes.

            Everybody jolted when the door swung open as the Emperor walked into his son’s room. The honey blonde slowly sat up and leaned on his head board as his father walked in. The two doctors bowed, Shou got of the prince’s bed and bowed as well. He sat on the edge of the bed and rubbed his son’s pale cheek.

“How are you feeling my son?”

Kouyou smiled. “A little weak, but I’ll be fine.”

The emperor looked at the doctors. “Rise, what is wrong with him?”

The elder doctor looked up and sighed ad he grabbed a wet clothe out of a bowl. He started wiping the sweat off the honey blonde’s face “We’re not entirely sure. We’re testing his blood now. His symptoms, though…they look a lot like hers.”

The Emperor glared at the doctor and grabbed the elder’s arm to lead him out of the room. “Explain.”

“High fever, constant vomiting, spitting up blood, weakness in limbs, fainting. I think he’s developing the same disease as your late wife.”

“How long does he have?”

“It’s hard to say. His attacks are more erratic than hers was and they’re a lot stronger. After his test results come back, we’ll be able to determine how bad it is. For now, he shouldn’t walk around, he needs to stay in bed, and rest.”

The emperor shook his head and walked back into the room, where he saw Shou wiping Kouyou’s face as they giggled. He walked in as the ashy blonde crawled on the bed and sat on his knees as he grabbed the prince’s hand.

“My lord.” They turned to find General Sakai and his slave walking in.

“Yes?”

"The soldiers are ready to depart.”

“Good, go with them and make sure they make it to their destinations.”

The general bowed. “Sir.”

“Wait.” Kouyou spoke up. “General, you have no use of your slave while you’re gone correct?”

Sakai huffed. “Why?”

“Shou will need help taking care of me. I was hoping you could lend him over while you’re away.”

“There are plenty of other slaves.”

“But Kouyou requests yours.” The emperor said. “Hand him over until you return.”

Sakai growled, but he gripped the slave’s hair and threw him forward. He yelped as he landed hard on the stone floor. “I’ll be departing now.”

They watched as the general left, then one of the doctors helped the slave back up to his feet. “We should leave him to rest now.”

The emperor shook his head and walked out, followed by the two doctors, leaving them alone. Kouyou smiled at the slave, but the dark haired man remained emotionless.

“Sit.” The slave did so. “So what’s your name?”

Shou scooted over and sat by him to comfort him as Kouyou moved closer.

“You’re supposed to speak when he asks you a question.” The ashy blonde said.

“Shou, silence. Now,” Kouyou rubbed the slave’s cheek and turned his head. “will you tell me your name?”

The slave remained emotionless, but stared into the prince’s eyes and the honey blonde saw it. The sadness, the pain and darkness in the other’s eyes. He started rubbing the slave’s head, making him whimper, but he leaned into it, showing that it felt good. Kouyou continued and Shou started gentle rubbing the other slave’s back, making him flinch. The honey blonde shook his head so Shou stopped and pulled his hands away, but that didn’t stop the fast breathing. The slave’s body was shaking, so Kouyou grabbed the dark haired man’s head and lifted it up to look at his feared filled face.

“What’s wrong?”

The slave closed his eyes and stayed there as if waiting for something, but before the prince could do anything, he started coughing.

“My lord.” Shou shouted as he grabbed the honey blonde. He helped the prince lay back down and started wiping Kouyou’s face with a wet rag.

“Come here.” The prince whispered, wiggling his finger. The slave stood up and walked over to stand beside the honey blonde. “Shou, bring me some food please.”

The ashy blonde got off the bed and bowed before walking out of the room. Kouyou grabbed the other slave’s arm and pulled him down onto the bed. The slave laid on his back, closed his eyes, and spread his legs, which surprised the prince.

“What are you doing?”

The slave looked up at him with a confused face, but then he slipped his hands down to remove his cloth. Kouyou grabbed the slave’s arm, stopping him.

“I wanted you to lay down. You look tired. I don’t want have sex with you.”

The slave tilted his head in a questioning look. The prince sighed as he covered the other up and then he waited for Shou to return with the tray of food.

            A few days later, Kouyou had gotten anything, but better. He was getting worse. Shou was sitting on his lap, wiping the sweat off his face as the other slave brought a tray of food for the prince. The ashy blonde took it from him and sat it beside them, then started feeding his master.

“Well, well, well. What do we have here.” They looked up to find prince Saga walking into the room.

“What do you want?” Kouyou asked.

The younger prince smiled as he walked closer. “Oh nothing much. Just seeing if you’re coming to the meeting or not.”

“Of course he’s not. He’s sick.” Shou said.

“Silence slave!”

The ashy blonde bit his tongue as he scowled at the other prince.

“Now, are you coming, or are you going to lay around and show father how truly weak you are?”

The honey blonde glared at his brother, but pushed Shou off his legs and swung them off the bed. His body shook as he stood up and he started swaying, but luckily the general’s slave caught him.

“I’m ok. Shou, get me some clothes.”

The ashy blonde shook his head sadly and gathered a few clothes out of the closet, then helped the prince get dressed. Kouyou petted Shou’s head then slowly followed his brother out of the room. The two slaves watched as the prince stumble out.

“Thank you for catching him.” Shou mumbled. The other slave looked at him with a blank expression, but before either could respond, they heard the door close. They looked up to find four soldiers walking to them, smiling. They were wearing all black, baggy pants that tucked into their leather boots, baggy shirts that had straps crossing their chests, and they had on their black helmets that covered half their faces. They grabbed the slaves and gagged them before they could scream. Shou struggled, but the soldiers were a lot stronger and they tied his arms behind his back. He looked over to find them throwing the other slave onto the bed with a gag in his mouth, but he wasn’t tied up. Two of them got on the bed and the other two threw Shou onto the floor as they ripped the other slave’s cloth off. The ashy blonde watched as they laughed and pulled their erect dicks out of their pants. One got in front of the general’s slave, while the other got behind him and lifted his body to where he was on all fours. The first man gripped the slave’s hair and yanked him up, then pulled the gag out. In one quick motion, he shoved his cock into the slave’s mouth as the other thrusted into the slave’s backside. He whimpered as both men started thrusting hard inside him. Shou saw blood dripping down the other’s inner thigh, but his view was blocked when another soldier stepped in front of him. He pushed the ashy blonde onto his back, the other dug his nails into the slave’s knees, prying Shou’s legs apart. He ripped the cloth off as the other swung his leg over the ashy blonde’s face. He pulled out his erection, then pulled the gag out of the slave’s mouth.

“ _No!”_ Shou screamed. _“Help! Stop!”_

The slave on the bed looked over to find the soldier trying to force Shou’s mouth open with his cock. The slave was crying, struggling to get free as the second soldier placed himself at the slave’s entrance.

 _“Ahh!_ ” They all looked at the soldier in front of the general’s slave, who pulled his bloody cock out of the slave’s mouth. _“He bit me!”_

Blood dripped from the slave’s mouth as he pulled away from the other man, flipped over and kicked him in the face. Before the other two soldiers could react, the slave had kicked them off Shou. The ashy blonde watched as the soldiers ganged up on him and threw him back on the bed. The one that go bit sat next to Shou, wrapping his injury in a cloth as the other three tied the other slave up and placed him on his stomach. One got under him and thrusted up into him, making him moan in pain, then the man behind him forced his cock in next to the other, making the slave scream. Tears rolled down his face, but that didn’t stop the man in front of him, who held a knife to his throat.

“Bite me, and I’ll slice yours and your friend’s neck.” He didn’t give the slave a chance to respond before he shoved his cock into the slave’s mouth. Shou was gagged by the injured soldier before he could scream for help. He watched the other slave’s pain got worse, his face turning red from the lack of oxygen, and more blood dripped from his backside. Their thrusts started getting faster, more violent, and they started moaning loader. The one underneath moaned as he shot up, releasing inside the slave. The other moaned and started going faster, then thrusted hard one last time, shooting his burning seeds into the slave as well. They slowly pulled out, making the slave whimper in pain, but not as much as the third thrusting harshly in his mouth. The two got off the bed and started stroking themselves as they watched Shou, but they were waiting for their friend to finish. Finally, after a few more thrusts, he squirted his creamy liquid inside the slave’s mouth.

“Drink up.” He said as he slowly pulled his cock out, but left the tip in. The slave swallowed hard, then sucked on his tip to get the rest out, so the soldier would pull out. He finally did, giving the slave a chance to breath and fall over. He got of the bed and smiled at the ashy blonde on the floor as he started stroking himself. The three walked over as the injured man walked to the bed and gripped the slave’s hair. The three paced themselves around the slave on the floor and started rubbing his body. One spread his legs and held them open as the other got between them and placed his forming erection at his entrance. Tears fell from Shou’s eyes as he shook his head no, but the third man grabbed his head to hold it still. Before the man started pushing, a loud crack caught their attentions. They looked over at the bed to see the fourth soldier whipping the slave’s back with his belt. They shrugged their shoulders and continued with Shou. The ashy blonde cried, struggling, but the men too strong and one started piercing him.

“Tight. I think he’s virgin.” The one between his legs grunted, trying to push in, making Shou scream out.

 _“What the hell?”_ Everyone turned to the door to find prince Kouyou standing there with an angered face and tall soldier standing beside him. The honey blonde turned to the door. _“Guards! Guards there are intruders in my room!”_

Soon, five men came running and arrested the four soldiers, the tall soldier, that walked in with the prince, apologized then walked out to punish the four men. Kouyou got on the floor and freed Shou, who hugged the prince as he cried.

“You’re ok now, don’t worry. Don’t worry.” Kouyou said helping the ashy blonde to his feet, then he turned to find the other laying on his bed, silently crying. “Oh no.”

They both sat on the edge of the bed and Kouyou went to pet the slave’s head, but he flinched and moved away from the touch.

“Master,” Shou spoke up. “he protected me.”

 The honey blonde rubbed the slave’s cheek and looked at his shaking body. “Thank you for protecting him. And… sorry. I’m so sorry.”

            As the days passed, Kouyou made sure to keep the general’s slave by his side, trying to get the dark haired man to trust him. The honey blonde had Shou feed him, made sure he slept on the couch in the room, and kept trying to get him to talk. They were sitting on the bed, all three eating, except Shou was feeding the other slave more than himself. The prince rubbed the general’s slave’s head.

“What’s your name?”

The slave looked down, but he started whispering. “Yutaka.”

Kouyou had a big smiled on his face. “Your name is Yutaka?”

The slave shook his head no. “Yutaka…brother.”

“He’s your brother?”

The slave shook his head yes.

“Well, what’s your name?”

The slave stared blankly at the prince, who sighed after a few minutes and shook his head before laying back down. Suddenly, the honey blonde grabbed his head and grunted.

“Master? What’s wrong?” Shou asked. Before Kouyou could answer, he leaned over the bed and started puking up a mouthful of blood. “ _Oh my god! Get help!”_

The general’s slave was frozen, his face was covered in fear as blood was splattered on his arms. Shou jumped off the bed and ran out of the room, screaming for help. Kouyou fell off the bed, puking up the rest of his food. The slave was tossed to the side as doctors ran and lifted him back onto the bed. He watched as they sat the prince up, checked his pulse, wiped his face, and checked his breathing and such.

            The Emperor walked down the hallways and swung the doors open to his son’s bedroom to find the doctors treating his son.

“How bad is it?”

They looked at him, but the eldest doctor walked to the father. “It’s bad. Very bad. He’s barely keeping consciousness, I think we need to move him. A five day drive from here is a medical center. They can help him a lot more and possibly even give him medicine to cure him. Since your late wife’s disease, they’ve been studying it to find a cure for it, or at least make it treatable.”

The emperor looked at his pale son and walked closer to him. The prince was gasping for air, shadows formed around his eyes, his cheeks red from the fever. The Emperor looked over at the doctor.

“Get him ready to leave.”

“My…my lord.” Kouyou coughed.

The father looked down at the honey blonde with regret. “Yes my son?”

“Give me some time…alone please.”

“Ok, they need about half an hour to get everything ready. Everybody out for a bit.”

The prince waited for everyone to leave before he looked at the general’s slave and waved for him to come closer. He stood beside the bed as Shou crawled on it and laid on the prince.

“Shou, listen to me. I want you to take him to the secret passageway and get him out of the city. I want you to go with him. Once you get out, I want you to run away as far away as possible.”

“Master!”

“No!” The honey blonde started coughing. “I’m going to die. I don’t want you to get in the hands of someone like Sakai and I will not let him go back to that man. Take him now. While you have time.”

Shou started tearing up. “No, I don’t want to leave you.”

“I don’t care, now go!”

The ashy blonde threw his leg over the prince’s lap and sat on him. He leaned down and gently kissed Kouyou, who pulled him into a more passionate kiss. After some intense minutes, Shou finally pulled away and wiped his tears away as he got of the bed.

“I love you.”He whimpered.

“I know. Now go, please.”

Shou grabbed the other slave’s hand and started pulling him away, but the slave tugged his arm back. He took his locket off as he walked to the prince. He grabbed Kouyou’s hand and dropped the necklace in it.

“Akira.” He mumbled.

The honey blonde smiled. “Akira. Nice to meet you.”

Shou grabbed the other slave’s hand and lead him out of the room. The ashy blonde led the other through mazes of hallways and avoided all human life. After a few hallways and rooms, they finally made it to the Emperor’s room. Luckily it was empty, so Shou led Akira to the wall with a fireplace and got on his knees. He grabbed one of the spikes that holds the wood, and pulled it down, opening a secret door on the back of the fireplace. He pulled the other to the floor and looked him in the eye.

“I’m not going with you. I can’t. So listen to me. You’re going to go all the way down the tunnel, don’t make any turns until you reach the end. There will be a left and a right, go right. Walk down, you’re going to take the third left and walk all the way down. You’ll see a gate, open it and run like hell. It’ll lead you out to the desert. Be safe. Now go.”

The slave shook his head and crawled through the small space, then turned to wave goodbye. Shou waved and closed the door, then rushed out of the room. He ran as fast as he could through the hallways and rooms until he saw a group of people rolling the prince on a stretcher.

“My lord.” Shou gasped as he walked up to his lover’s side.

The honey blonde glared up at the slave, but didn’t dare speak of his betrayal.

“Master, may I accompany you?” Shou asked.

“No.” the emperor said. “he doesn’t need you going.”

“My lord.” The prince whimpered. “Please, let him…let him come. I don’t want to be alone.”

He looked at his son and bobbed his head. “Ok. He can go.”

            A heavy duty camper with caterpillar tracks was driving through some sand dunes as the passengers ate their lunches.

“Hey gramps, how much longer?” A young man asked.

The old man at the wheel huffed. “Hiroto I swear if you ask me that one more time, I’m going to stop this thing and kick you out.”

“Oh come on, I was just wondering! We’ve been driving for two days now.”

“One or two more sweetie.” An old woman said in the passenger seat. The young blonde sighed as he turned to walk back to his seat, but then something caught his attention out the side window.

“H-hey, stop! Stop!”

“What?” the old man yelled, slamming in the brakes, making them slide through the sand.

“There’s a guy walking out there. See?”

They looked out the window to faintly see a young man with a piece of cloth around his waist, stumbling in the sand as Hiroto jumped out the side door. The two elderly stepped out of the camper as their grandson ran after the man.

“Hey!” Hiroto shouted, coming up to the man. “Hey you!”

The man kept going until the blonde grabbed his arm and turned him around. Hiroto studied him and realized that he was a slave. His red torso was covered in scars and the white clothe he had on gave it away.

“Are you ok?”

The slave swayed and finally fell forward onto the stranger. Hiroto pulled the man on his back and rushed to the camper, where the older couple helped to get him in. They laid him on the bed in the back as the old man got the camper going again. The grandmother wiped down the slave’s face with a cold rag as Hiroto got some water for him. The slave opened his eyes only to close them as he passed out. The blonde carefully dripped water into the slave’s mouth and looked at his grandmother, who only sighed.

            Ruki was petting one of the white horses when Kai walked down the hill with a smile.

“Having fun?” the brunette asked.

The chestnut turned and smiled. “Yes. Can I have this one Kai?”

“Oh Ru. You know you can’t.”

“But I like him. He’s beautiful, smart, and strong,” The shorter rubbed his lover’s arm. “just like you.”

Kai smiled and kissed the shorter one’s forehead. “I really wanted you to go back on the first trip.”

“I didn’t want to leave you.”

The brunette hugged Ruki. “Good answer.” He whispered before kissing his lover.

“Hey!” A man waved his hand, catching the couples’ attention. “Get up here! Aoi’s calling a meeting!”

Kai grabbed Ruki’s hand and they walked up the sandy hill together and went into camp where who was left were gathering. Once everyone was there, Aoi stood up.

“Ok listen up. We got some information that Prince Kouyou has fallen ill and they’re taking him to a medical center across the desert. The convoy is so small, that it’s practically undetectable. But we know their exact route and we have more than enough men to overpower them. The higher ups told us to get that prince. We’re going to take him hostage. Now we have more than enough, so I only want what is needed to go. A few need to stay here and guard this place until the Gaden returns for the rest of the animals and us. Also, Hiroto has yet to be heard from. I want a small search party to go out and find him. Now who wants to volunteer for what?”

“I’ll lead the attack on the prince.” Kai spoke up. “We can’t afford you going and getting shot. Why don’t you stay or go for Hiroto?”

“No, I need to be with you guys.”

“No! No way! We can take care of it!” The group shouted.

“I think I speak for all of us when I say this.” A blonde stepped forward. “We can’t risk your life on such a small mission that we can handle. We also want to prove that we can do this. So give us this chance.”

The raven sighed, looking at the men that was still there. Their faces were begging for this. “Fine, you win Byou. Kai, you’re in charge of it. I need four men to come with me and five to stay here. The rest will go.”

Aoi started talking to the group, deciding who went where while Kai pulled his lover to the side.

“I want you to go with Aoi ok?”

“No.” Ruki whimpered. “I’m going to stay with you. You may need me.”

“I can’t risk you getting hurt.”

“I’m not some weakling, I can take care of myself. I need to prove to everyone that I am on the rebellion’s side. I don’t want to be looked down anymore, or threatened. Kai this is my chance, please don’t take it away.”

“Ruki,” Aoi caught his attention. “Does Kai need you?”

The chestnut looked at his boyfriend, who answered for him. “No. He’s going with you.”

“Kai!”

“Don’t argue! You’re going with Aoi.”


	4. Chapter 4

            Aoi looked up from the map and out at the waves of golden sand. The light blue sky is such a strong contrast with the moving hills. The wind blows sand into swirls of orange specks in the air as if ribbons were dancing in the sky.

“How much longer?”Aoi turned his head to find that one of the guys in the back had opened the back windshield window and stuck his head in

The raven sighed and looked at his map. “I don’t know.”

“This is our second day driving. What if they didn’t even make it out of the city? We’ll be wasting our time and gas.”

“Zip it. They risked their lives to get us information, we can do this for them.” Aoi snapped. “If you didn’t want to do this, then you should have stayed at the camp. Now shut up and sit back.”

The man pulled his head out, closed the window and wrapped his face back in a cloth. Aoi went back to looking at the map and the compass as the truck continued on.

“Hey.”

The raven looked over. “What is it Ru?”

The chestnut shook his head. “Never mind, it’s nothing important.”

Aoi saw the sadness and the hurt in Ruki’s eyes. “He just wanted to protect you. He didn’t want you to get hurt.”

“I asked him not to take this from me. I had to prove myself.”

“Why?”

Ruki glanced over at the other. “You’ve seen it. They look at me with hatred. They point guns at me, threaten me, and attack me. They don’t trust me. It’s the worst feeling in the world not to be trusted.”

Aoi sighed. “Sorry. Don’t worry, you’ll get their trust. It just takes time.”

“Hey, are we going straight for a few miles then going to the east for a bit.”

The raven looked down at the map.“Yeah why?”

“Look.”

He looked up to see the shorter man pointing out at something reflecting the sun on one of the dunes. He looked closer to find that it was the camper. “Go faster.”

            They made it up the hill to the camper and saw that the door to it was open. Aoi stepped and he gasped at the sight of two bloody bodies on the ground.

“Get to them!” Aoi shouted, stepping out of the truck. They all jumped out of it and started running to the bodies, but sadly, the old couple had moved on.

“Aoi.” Ruki shouted. “Come here.”

The raven got up and walked over to the front of the camper where the chestnut was standing. He walked a little further to find an expensive black truck with a lion head printed on the side. Three men, appearing to be soldiers were laying on the ground dead. Their bodies filled with bullet holes like the old couple. Aoi stepped out a little and turned to look away from the site, but then he saw a blonde leaning against the camper. A bloody cloth was tied around his stomach, his head drooped down, but it looked like he was breathing.

“Hiroto!” Aoi yelped as he ran to his friend and he slid on his knees when he got there. “Over here! He needs help!”

Ruki ran to the truck and grabbed the stretcher from the back as the others went around the camper to see how he was doing. The chestnut laid the stretcher beside them as they laid the blonde on his back.

“A single shot to his abdomen.” One of the men stated. “It looks like they been here for at least a day, so it didn’t hit anything important. He’ll live, but we need to get him to a doctor soon.”

Aoi shook his head, then they placed the injured man on the stretcher, wrapped him in a few blankets and strapped him down. Aoi lifted one side of the stretcher while Ruki took the other and they headed to their truck as the others wrapped the older couple in blankets. They gently sat Hiroto on the back of the truck and slid him in, making him grunt. Aoi stepped in and kneeled beside the blonde.

“Hey, you’re going to be okay. We got you.”

“A-Aoi?”

“I’m here. We’re going to get you to a doctor.”

“Sorry.”

“It’s okay.” Aoi said, taking his friend’s hand. “They’ll get your grandparents up here, then we’ll head to headquarters ok?”

“Did you find him?”

The raven looked at Ruki, who shrugged his shoulders, then he looked back down. “Who?”

“The…the slave.”

“No, we didn’t see anybody else, but you.”

“Oh god. You…you gotta get him…out.”

“Where is he?”

“Under…under—”

“Move it, we have to get them on.” One of the guys shouted at Ruki.

“Shut up and wait!” Aoi shouted, then looked back down. “Where is he?”

“Un-under…the ma…mattress.” Hiroto whispered, before passing out. The raven patted his friend’s head, then jumped off the truck and ran to the camper with Ruki close behind. Aoi jumped into the oven like vehicle and went to the back where he flipped the mattress off the wooden platform. He rubbed the wood until he found a small rectangle that stuck up a few centimeters. He gripped it with his nails and wiggled it out to show a handle, so he grabbed it. He swung up the small door to find a man curled into a ball, drenched in sweat in the small compartment.

“We have to get him out of here.” Ruki said. Aoi leaned over and with Ruki’s help, they pulled his upper body out. The slave whimpered and opened his eyes as he swayed his head until the raven came into his site.

“You’re safe, we’re going to get you out.” Aoi said pulling the dark haired man out of the compartment and then held him princess style. “Let’s get out of here.”

They rushed out to the truck and laid him in the sand so they could grab one of the jugs of water. Aoi carefully poured the water on him, trying to cool him off. One the men in the truck handed some blankets over to they can wrap him up, then the raven lifted him and sat him inside the truck’s cab. Ruki got in the driver’s seat and started the truck as Aoi adjusted himself in the passenger seat, sitting the slave in his lap. Ruki turned the air conditioner on full blast as one of the guys in the back dropped some water bottles through the back window and then closed it. The chestnut turned the truck around and headed home as Aoi opened one of the bottles. He tilted the slave’s head back, opened his mouth, and started dripping the water into the brunette’s mouth.

            “Aoi. Aoi, wake up.”

The raven opened his eyes to find the sun going down, the slave still asleep in his arms and the truck shaking a little. “Hey.”

“We’re back.” Ruki said opening his door. Aoi looked out the window to see the camp and two large green trucks in the middle. They had caterpillar tracks, armor plating, small windows down the sides, square cab, and the only opening was in the back. His door opened to show Ruki smiling at him, so he carefully got out, still holding the slave. They walked to the trucks together where they saw that the second one was holding the animals, so they walked towards the first where Hiroto was being carried into. They walked in it to find a few rebels sitting, some securing Hiroto and his grandparents, and a few sleeping. They walked down the aisle looking at the seats that were large enough for a person to sleep on. They walked to the front, Ruki laid on the seat on the right as the raven laid the slave on the left seat. He stood up to see his short friend looking at him with tired eyes.

“Go ahead and sleep. You deserve it.”

Ruki shook his head and closed his eyes as he turned on his side. The raven walked down the aisle to make sure everyone was ready to go then he closed the door as the drivers walked around to the cab. Akira moaned as he opened his eyes. He looked around to find himself in a different place and he was wrapped in something strange. He sat up, realizing he was in a blanket, whimpered from the pain of the cloth rubbing his sunburn. He looked around at the strange faces as he stood up and the blanket fell off him as he did so. A man walking to his seat noticed the slave and walked to him with a smile.

“Hey, are you hurting anywhere?”

Akira stared blankly at him, but when the man reached his hand out to touch him, the slave whimpered and jumped back into the wall of the trailer. The Gaden started moving, scaring the brunette more.

“Hey you’re ok.” The man said. Akira shook his head as he moved to the side to get away, but when the man grabbed his arm, he screamed and punched the man in the face. The commotion caught other’s attention and the rushed over to help their friend. Akira curled into a ball in the corner and gasped for air as people started crowding him. Aoi pushed through the group and saw the man in the corner scared to death. He pulled the man with the bloody nose up to his feet then pulled him out of the way.

“Get back to your seats!” Aoi ordered. They looked at the slave then started walking away as the raven slowly approached him. He kneeled a foot away and reached his hand out. “Hey now. Come on, let’ get you laid back down. It’s ok, you can trust me.”

Akira looked at the raven’s eyes and swallowed hard before moving his shaky hand out to grab the other man’s hand. Aoi slowly stood up, helping the slave to his feet, then had him sit down in the seat and sat beside him.

“I’m Aoi. What’s your name?”The man just stared at him, not moving a muscle. The raven sighed and stood up. “Ok then. Lay down and rest. I’ll get you something to eat.”

Akira saw the man leaving, but he whimpered as he jumped to his feet and grabbed Aoi’s hand. The raven turned to find the man looking at him with scared eyes, his hands shaking, and his face was dripping in sweat.

“Just lay down. I’ll be right back.” Aoi said gently pulling his hand away. He turned and took a few steps, but a thud caught his attention. He turned back to see the man on the floor passed out. He sighed, stepping over his body, he grabbed the blanket and wrapped the man’s body in it again. He picked him up and carried him back to the seat, but this time, he sat down laying Akira across his lap. He petted the slave’s face, making him whimper as he opened his eyes. He looked up at the raven and grabbed the hand on his face. He made a high pitch sound as he rubbed his face on the hand before closing his eyes, falling back to sleep.

            Kai was leaning against the truck, staring at a picture of Ruki and him kissing. He was rubbing his thumb over the picture, smiling, remembering the little kid who took the photo. He sold it to the brunette for a silver coin.

“They’re coming!” One of the men shouted, running towards the group. Kai tucked the picture away as he stood up with the others and gathered up.

“How long?”

“Ten, fifteen minutes.”

“Ok, let’s go over the plan.” Kai said. “We wait until all three cars are in range. Byou’s team will take out the first truck, Mao’s team will take out the third truck. My team will take out the four motorcycles around the middle car. My team will stay over here, Byou and Mao you’ll go to the hills across from here. You wait for my signal, we attack all at the same time, confusing them. Once we get the two cars out, the guards in the prince’s car will come out and that’s when we surround them. With them we only use what force is necessary. We tie them and get the prince. Then we head straight home were we’ll meet up with are friends and family.”

Everybody shouted with joy, but it was short lived when they had to get into their positions and wait for the trucks to enter. Kai looked over the small hill to see them driving through. Both trucks had four men in the back with assault rifles, two in the cabs. The middle car had two motorcycles on each side and they each had AK-47s, but the rebels also had those weapons, plus some. The brunette jumped up and he yelled. All at once, the three groups opened fire on their targets. Byou’s team gunned the men in the first truck down with their machine guns. Mao’s had a little trouble, but one of the men threw a grenade and it shockingly landed in the back of the truck. The men in the truck screamed and panicked, but they were too slow and they got caught in the blast, killing them. All the while, Kai had pulled out his sniper rifle, sat it up and shot the two motorcyclist on his side in the head, killing them. His team ran out as the other two motorcyclist came around to shoot back, but Kai took them out before they shot a round. His team and the other two quickly surrounded the middle car as the two guards stepped out of the back holding their weapons up. Kai took his time walking down the hill and to the standoff.

“This is how it’s going to work.” The brunette said. “You’re going to drop your weapons and surrender. We are going to tie you up, let you live, but we’re taking all your weapons and the prince. Or we can shoot you, take all your weapons and the prince.”

One of the kissed his teeth, glaring at him, but Kai walked closer to them and gave them his million dollar smile.

“Let’s just shoot them.” Mao shouted.

“No.” The brunette glared at him, the smiled at the two enemies. “I’d take the first option if I were you.”

The men looked at each other, then dropped both their weapons and got their knees. The group quickly tied them up and opened the back door to show a slave wearing a purple, gold trimmed clothe holding the prince, as if protecting him.

“Stay away!” He yelled. Byou pointed a gun at him, but Kai pushed the blonde back and stepped into the back of the car.

“By the cloth you’re wearing, I’d say you’re slave. By what it’s made of, I’d say a royal slave. By the way you’re holding him, I’d say his slave.”

“Don’t hurt him.” The ashy blonde begged.

“We’re not going to hurt him or you. We’re going to take him.”

“Please. He’s very sick. He could die if he’s not treated.”

“We’ll treat him. Just because we’re rebels doesn’t mean we’re savages. You can come if you like, you can be free.”

“I don’t want be free.”

Kai looked at how close he was to the unconscious prince. “You love him.”

The ashy blonde looked at Kouyou. “He saved my life. He took care of me. He’s gentle and kind and nothing like his father.”

“We’ll take care of him. Listen, we just need him hostage to end this war.”

The ashy blonde looked at Kai. “How do you know? His father is a monster. Just because his son is being held by you doesn’t mean he’ll do what you say.”

“We have to try.”

The slave looked at his master. “He wants this to end. He wants us to be free. Please, let me stay beside him.”

The brunette shook his head. “I can do that.”

“Promise?”

“Promise. Now, my men are going to put him in one of the trucks. There may not be enough room for you ride with him, but I’ll let you stay by him when we get there okay?”

The slave shook his head. “I-I’m Shou.”

“Kai.”

The brunette stepped out and motioned some men to move the prince out of the car. Shou got out to get out of their way, but he started walking next to them as they headed towards a few trucks driving their way. They stopped right beside Kai, who was waiting patiently and soon the trucks stopped in front of them and they walked around. The brunette climbed into the back to help pull the honey blonde up and he strapped Kouyou down, making him grunt. The prince’s eyes fluttered open as Shou stepped up to him.

“Kouyou.”

The prince looked up. “Shou? Where are we?”

“We’re the rebellion.” Kai spoke up. “And you are now our hostage, but don’t worry, we’ll take care of you.”

The prince sighed. “Damn.”

Kai giggled as he started to get up, but something silver on the prince’s neck caught his attention. He grabbed the chain and lifted it up to see a locket with a blue rose hanging from it. “Where did you get this?”

Kouyou glared at him. “Why should I tell you? You just kidnapped me.”

Kai’s kind face suddenly changed to harsh cold one. He slapped the prince’s face, then gripped his neck. “Tell me, where you got this!”

“A salve!” Shou shouted, pulling the brunette’s arm away. “A slave gave it to Kouyou after we helped him.”

“What was his name?”

“Akira.”

 _“Where is he?”_ Kai yelled “ _Who has him?”_

“I took him to an emergency escape route for the emperor and had him get out. It led out to the desert, but he was freed.” Shou explained.

“So close.” Kai whimpered. “Why can’t I just find him? Why do I have to keep searching?”

“You.” The prince spoke up. “You’re Yutaka. You’re his brother.”

The brunette glared at the prince, gently taking the necklace off and then he walked off the truck, but he turned back. “My brother better have found safety. If not, I’m going to making your life a living hell.”

            “Wake up.”

Aoi opened his eyes and saw Ruki smiling down at him. “What?”

“We’re here.”

“Seriously? How long have I been sleeping?”

“All day. You haven’t had much rest these past few days so we didn’t wake you.”

“Oh.”

“Well, we’re parked outside the hospital and they’re getting Hiroto off right now. He needs to be checked out too.”

Aoi looked down at the sleeping man in his arms. “Has he woken up any?”

“He was awake most of last night, but he didn’t move. He just stared at you until he fell back to sleep. He doesn’t look well.”

The man’s cheeks were sunken in, his face pale, his eyes dark, his was skin dirty, and his body was shaking. The raven sighed, but carefully lifted the man and stood up. They turned to find two men carrying Hiroto off then the grandparents’ bodies, then the raven walked out. He looked around the city, taking in the familiar buildings that had been built when he was still a baby. People were walking around, smiling, enjoying themselves, animals running around with their owners, the homes, the shops, the Civil building and others.

“You coming?” Ruki caught his attention. Aoi nodded and walked around the Gaden to see the largest building here. He walked up the hospital doors, both had red crosses in white circles on it, they were opened up by one of the nurses. A woman brought a stretcher so Aoi could lay the slave on it.

“I don’t know his name. He looks like he’s been starved and beaten, probably raped. Take care of him. I’ll come to see him in a little bit.”

She nodded and started rolling the stretcher away as he walked out the doors. First thing he spotted was Ruki looking up at the sky.

“Hey.”

“Hey.” The shorter mumbled. “You going to talk to them?”

“They told me to as soon as I got back.”

“I…I don’t want to stay there alone. I want Kai there holding me.”

Aoi smiled. “He’ll be back in a few days. Don’t worry. Besides, I think he’ll be very happy to walk into his house and find you on his bed waiting for him.”

Ruki smiled. “I guess.”

“I have to go now. I’ll see you later. Go home and rest.”

They smiled at each other, then the raven started walking down the road towards the Civil building. He walked up  the large building’s doors, identified himself, the guards let him in, and led him to the conference room. The door was opened for him and he walked in to find five elder men sitting around a table waiting for him. He took a seat at the end of the table and waited.

“How was your trip? The elder in the middle.

Aoi smiled. “Tiring, Kazamasa.”

“We’ll make this short so you can rest. Did Hiroto find anything?”

“We don’t know yet. He…they were attacked, Hiroto did survive, but he was shot. We took him straight to the hospital. We’ll talk to him when he wakes up.”

“Anything thing else?”

“Before they were attacked, they found a slave wondering in the desert and they hid him. We almost didn’t find him. He also needed medical attention. I will talk to him when he is able to.”

“And Ruki?”

“There’s nothing to be concerned about. He’s not a traitor, he wouldn’t hurt any of us. In fact, he’s scared of us. He’s scared of getting attacked or hurt. You need to stop accusing him of stuff that’s not true.”

The elder sighed. “Alright then. It’s been more than a year, he’s shown no signs of it. That’s the end of it then.”

“Good.” Aoi said. Before any of them could say another word there was a knock on the door and it opened up showing a young man.

“Um…”

“What is it Rui?”

“There’s a problem down at the hospital. The man that Aoi brought in is attacking anyone that comes near him.”

Aoi stood up.

“We’ll finish this tomorrow.” The elder said. “Go.”

The raven nodded and rushed out the door.

            Doctors and nurses surrounded the room, each holding a syringe to calm the slave in the corner. He was holding his ground, ready to strike anyone who comes close to him. A crowd had formed outside the room, which Aoi had push through.

“What’s going on? What happened?”

“Emiko was checking him when he woke up and then he just flipped out. He punched her in the face. When a few doctors ran to help, he punched them a few times before they needed help too. Now they’re just trying to sedate him.”

Aoi pushed through the crowd and into the room. The small bed was flipped over, glass was broken everywhere, needles laid about, a metal rod was bended, and a folder had been dropped, scattering the papers inside. He walked past the doctors, but turned and looked at them. “Everyone shut up. You’re scaring him more. That’s all it is. He’s scared. Now slowly walk out of the room and give him space.”

They looked at each other, then slowly walked out, but stayed outside the door. The raven turned and smiled at the frightened man in the corner.

“Hey there. You remember me? I’m Aoi. I saved you from the camper.” Aoi took slow steps making his way closer and closer. “You can trust me. You can trust everybody here. We just want to help you. You’re hurt.”

He reached his hand out waiting for the other to take it. Akira’s breathing was erratic, his entire body was shaking, but he stepped forward. He brought his arms away from his chest and moved one towards the raven. His hand shook as he moved closer and then he grabbed the man’s hand. He stepped forward, pushing his body against the raven, where his breathing started slowing down. His other hand gripped Aoi’s shirt as he buried his head in the raven’s neck. Aoi just smiled as he patted the slave’s back. A doctor walked in and slowly turned the flimsy bed upright, then backed up to give Aoi room. The raven tried to lead the other to the bed, but Akira stopped and whimpered as he pushed away from the raven.

“Hey, it’s ok, calm down!” Aoi shouted, but the slave started yelling again and started punching the raven’s chest. Aoi grabbed his wrist’s to stop him, making him whimper, but then he fell forward, passing out. The raven held him up and sighed as he laid the slave on the bed.

            Akira awoke hours later and looked around to find himself alone in a white room. He shot up and regretted it when his head started spinning. After a few minutes, he shook his head and was able to see that he had been laying in a small bed, then he saw a tube in his arm. The noises of the hospital started to fill his ears. People walking, talking, groaning, laughing, babies crying, yelling. His breathing started waver as his heart started beating faster and he couldn’t take it. He swung his legs off the bed and quickly stood up only to find his legs too weak to support his weight. He fell face first onto the floor with a thud and he ripped the needle out of his arm in the process. He whimpered as he tried to lift himself up, but his body shook too much. He heard footsteps rushing in, then suddenly he was being flipped and laid in someone’s arms. He looked up, though blinded by the lights, he could see Aoi looking over him. He lifted Akira up and laid him back on the bed, but that’s when the slave freaked out. He started kicking his legs, flailing his arms until he pushed himself off the bed and knocked it over in the process.

“Hey you’re ok. Why are you doing this?” Aoi asked as he kneeled down. Akira looked up from the floor and saw people gathering at the door, but their faces gave away that they were too scared to walk. That was fine, he didn’t want them in there and his attention went straight to Aoi. He forced his arms up and started crawling to the raven. Aoi lifted him up to his feet and supported, but the moment he turned towards the bed, Akira whimpered and clenched the man’s jacket.

Aoi looked down at him. “Are you…are you scared of beds?”

The slave looked up at him with sad eyes. “Hurt.”

He looked down at Akira, studied him. The slave had obviously been starved, the nurses even said it, his body was filthy as if he hasn’t bathed in a while, and maybe also it’s from walking around in the desert. Scars cover his chest, legs, arms, back, and just about everywhere else except for his face and neck. He looked as if he was whipped, burned, beaten, and just tortured. Aoi felt a wave of sadness fill his body. He turned the slave’s body so his chest was against Aoi’s and then the raven hugged him.

“I’m sorry that this happened to you.” He whispered, gently rubbing the slave’s head. Akira felt nice, warm and it was foreign to him, but it reminded him of the kindness the prince gave him. He hesitated, but he raised his shaky arms and carefully, as if he was scared of being hurt, he wrapped his arms around the raven. Aoi smiled a little as he continued rubbing the other’s head, but he took small steps back, leading Akira slowly. He pulled away from the embrace and sat down in a chair in the room, then he pulled the slave on top oh of his lap. He moved Akira around so that his legs hung off the chair beside the raven’s and his body leaned against Aoi’s. The slave laid his head in the crook of Aoi’s neck and the man gently rubbed his head again. Akira felt something he hasn’t in a long time. He felt safe. Safe enough that he closed his eyes and fell asleep in this stranger’s embrace.


	5. Chapter 5

            Aoi was drifting into dreamland, a place he really wanted to go for several hours now. He got over the many footsteps outside the room, even the louder ones walking in. He felt hair brush against his face and he moved his face around, but the hairs against his nose wouldn’t go away. He opened his eyes to see a doctor holding the slave’s head up, sticking a needle in his neck.

“What are you doing?”

The doctor smiled at him. “I thought you’d like to go home and rest properly, so I’m giving him some sleeping medicine. We can move him on the bed and let you go home.”

“He’ll freak out when he wakes up on it.”

“Then be back before he wakes up.”

Aoi sighed, but carefully got his feet, lifting the slave up in his arms. The raven carried him to the bed and gently laid him down. He caressed the man’s cheek as he slid his hand away. The slave looked so… peaceful when he was asleep. Aoi covered him up, then walked behind the doctor and hit the light switch before closing the door. He walked out the hospital and started walking down the empty street as he looked up at the stars. He walked slowly, finding constellations, and connecting stars making his own. At one point, it took a few minutes to realize that he had stopped walking, but he sighed and started towards his house again. Soon he was at his front door, staring at the mahogany, rubbing the wood down to the knob. He unlocked it, walked into his lonely home, and turned the lights on. He dropped his keys on the coffee table in the living room, then walked down the hall to his bedroom where he found his bags from his trip on the floor beside his dresser.

“Ru must have dropped them off.” He mumbled, taking his shirt off. He dropped his pants and plopped onto the bed. He gasped out, closing his eyes and drifting off into a much needed slumber.

            “Kenta! Kenta get up come on, we have to go see your cousin!” A woman shouted walking down the hallway in her house. She opened one of the doors to find her son still lying in bed with the blankets blocking his face from the early sun. “Kenta, wake up. We need to go see Hiroto. Don’t make me leave you.”

“Wait!” the young boy shouted, popping up from under the covers. The nine year old brunette jumped off the bed, out of his pajamas, and into the fresh clothes his mother sat out for him. He ran out his bedroom door and to the living room where his mother was waiting with a smile. He slipped on his shoes and grabbed his mother’s hand as they walked out the door together. They walked down the street greeting people they knew as they got closer and closer to the hospital. When they got there, they walked straight to the nurse’s station with hope that they could see their loved one.

“I’m sorry, but Kenta can’t go back there. Hiroto is still in the ICU and his wound was infected. His immune system is struggling. Your son just got over the flu and he could still be carrying the virus. It can hurt Hiroto if he goes back there. I’m sorry.”

The mother smiled sadly at her son. “Honey, I’m sorry, you can’t see him yet. He has to get a little better.”

“Why?”

She looked at the nurse who walked from around the counter. “Well, he is very sick and we can’t let you get sick. Ok.” The lady lied.

“But mommy might get sick.” The boy whined.

“Well, she had a stronger body than you do. When he gets better, then we’ll let you see him. It’ll only be a few days, don’t worry.”

Kenta pouted. “Okay.”

“Why don’t you hang out with us while your mother visits?” The nurse said picking him up.

“K.”

His mom kissed his forehead and headed through some double doors as he sat up on the counter of the work station. He watched as the nurse talked to visitors and new patients, then she let him help out with a few things. He handed over papers, clipped on bracelets, and typed on the computer. She looked at the young boy on her desk. His hair was brunette, chubby cheeks, strong Asian eyes, thin lips, and a frail looking body. She felt sorry for the boy. He came in every year with a case of the flu, then a case of pneumonia.  

“Want to come with me to give some papers to my boss?” The nurse asked.

Kenta smiled and shook his head. He held her hand as they walked through the double doors his mother went through earlier, down the hallway to another counter where she let his hand go. She started talking to a doctor as Kenta looked around, but then some loud noises caught his attention. He looked down the hallway to see a few people in scrubs and white coats standing outside a room. Being the curious little kitten he was, he sneaked away from the nurse and made his way to the crowd of five people. He looked in to find a doctor talking to a man with a white clothe around his waist that was standing in the corner of the room. The man grabbed a jar of wooden sticks and threw it at the doctor, making her dash out of the room to safety. The sound of glass breaking caught a woman’s attention, but she looked back to the nurse she entrusted her son too.

“Hey.” She said walking up to the nurse. “Where’s Kenta?”

The nurse looked around with a smile, but it disappeared. “Kenta? He was just here.”

“Kenta!” His mother shouted, but he couldn’t hear her. He looked at the scared man and he felt like he needed to do something. He started walking in.

“Kenta don’t go in there!” The nurse shouted when she spotted him. She, his mother and the doctor ran towards the room, but the young boy was already walking to the man.

“Kenta, get out! That man is dangerous!” the nurse shouted.

The younger boy looked at the nurse and realized that everyone was too scared to enter and they were even holding his mother back. He turned and looked up at the man as he stepped closer.

“Hello. I’m Kenta.” The younger boy raised his hand and smiled. “You want to be my friend?”

The man whimpered as he slid onto his knees and looked the brunette in the eyes. He gently grabbed the boy’s hand, as if he was scared of breaking it and then softly spoke. “H-hi.”

            Aoi woke up to the sun shining in his face, but he pulled his blanket up over his head. He huffed as he sat there for a few minutes and threw the blankets off. He dragged his butt out of bed and treaded to his dresser. He grabbed a pair of baggy pants, a tight shirt with a skull on it, and some clean boxers. He went straight to his bathroom, turned on the shower and stepped in. Finally getting a real hot shower instead of ice cold well water. It was a nice change. He enjoyed the warm water as he washed up, then he got out, got dressed and headed to the kitchen where he made himself a cup of coffee. The one thing he missed most. He sat down on his couch with the cup and smiled at a picture sitting on his coffee table. It was of his parents and him when he was two years old.

“I’m sorry. I don’t remember when this was taken. Even with you guys right here, I can barely remember your faces.” Aoi sighed as he stood up. He finished up his coffee, slipped into some shoes and walked out the door.

            He walked into the hospital and greeted the nurses before proceeding to through the double doors. He walked down the hallway to find two doctors and a woman standing outside the slave’s room. He gulped as he rushed to the door.

“Did he wake up?”

The doctor turned with a smiled. “You have got to see this.”

Aoi looked in to find the man sitting at a small table with a young boy, both eating and both had rice covering their faces. The raven took a step in, catching their attentions, but the slave jumped to his feet and ran to him. He grabbed Aoi’s arm and led him to the table where they sat down. The slave scooted closer to his friend as he picked up the bowl of rice started eating with his fingers again.

“Is that good?” Aoi asked. The slave looked at him with the same blank expression, but he shook his head yes then offered the bowl to the raven. “No, no. You eat it. You need it.”

The man grabbed a handful of rice and started nibbling on it as he stared at the raven, who just giggled. He grabbed a paper towel and wiped the rice off the man’s face, then off the young boy’s.

“So, are you going to tell me your name yet?” Aoi asked.

Akira shook his head no.

“That’s okay. Um…but it would be nice to be able to talk to you if I knew your name. Maybe I can even find a family member.” The raven smiled, but the other still shook his head no.

“Trick.” He whispered.

Kenta looked at the man. “A trick? Like a cool magic trick? Or scary trick?”

The man kept his eyes on Aoi. “Liars.”

The raven’s eyes grew. ‘Whatever this guy went through, it must have been worse than hell. He won’t trust anyone.’

“Do you trust Kenta?”

The slave shook his head yes.

“Why?”

Akira played with some rice on the table as he nibbled on his handful of rice, clearly ignoring the question and it annoyed the raven, but he stayed calm.

“Do you trust me?”

The slave looked at him for a minute before biting his lip and slowly shaking his head yes.

“Why?”Akira looked away from the question, but the raven gently turned his head back. “Why me?”

The man looked down, but grabbed Aoi’s hand and rubbed it against his cheek, up to his head, then whispered. “Kind.”

Aoi looked at the slave’s broken eyes and felt a strange feeling of wanting to protect him from anymore pain. Save him from them suffering he’s faced and show him that he doesn’t have to live in fear anymore.

            Kai sighed as he stared out the window at the moon and stars as they entered the tip of the forest. Being so close to home, made everyone anxious and wanting to get there sooner. The brunette in the front seat of the first truck was gripping the picture of him and Ruki. Oh, how he missed his lover, how he missed his warmth, his touch, his love, and his beautiful face. He closed his eyes knowing it’s still going to be a ways away before they reach home. He started thinking, drifting in and out thoughts about his brother, his parents, the hill, the soldiers, then suddenly a not so distant memory.

_Kai was part of a small convey that infiltrated the kingdom one night. They had made their way through the city and were going into the suburban area of the rich and the nobles. Their mission was to get into the pride’s castle, kill the emperor and his family, but they didn’t get that far. Their worn out truck didn’t stand out in the city, but when they entered the suburbs, they caught a lot of unwanted attention. They knew they were in trouble when they saw people calling their children to get inside._

_“we need to get out of here.” Kai mumbled._

_“Kazuki, get us the hell out of here.” Aoi ordered. The driver bobbed his head and stopped, but before he turn around, army trucks were headed towards them from all directions._

_“Shit! What do we do?” Kazuki asked._

_“Drive the fuck through them!” Byou shouted._

_Aoi looked around. “Shit! Do it!”_

_The driver slammed on the gas pedal and skidded off towards the two oncoming trucks, playing a game of chicken. Kazuki looked around and that when he smiled. He waited until he was mere feet from the two trucks before he suddenly turned to the right and went straight through the fence between two houses. The truck and it’s passengers bounced roughly as they went through large backyards and around pools, but that didn’t stop the guys chasing them. They finally made it through the last fence and onto another road, but they still had three trucks behind them._

_“Hold on!” Kazuki yelled as he sped up. The passengers glanced at each other then out the front to see what their crazy friend had planned. Their eyes got wide when they noticed that they were getting closer to a three way stop and house straight ahead._

_“Kazuki don’t!” Kai yelped._

_“Fuck it! Go crazy man go!” Byou shouted with a smile._

_“Oh jeez.” Aoi sighed. “We better be able to get away from this.”_

_The driver pushed the gas all the way down and squeezed his eyes shut as everyone ducked as much as they could. They held their breath, getting ready for the impact and was only second later that they were ramming through the large nobleman home. Screams could be heard along with glass breaking and wood smashing. Just as quickly as it started, they were out the other side of the house, going through the fence and into back of the neighbor’s house where they were halted to a stop. They gasped for air as they groaned and sat up._

_“Ok, who screamed like a girl?” Byou asked._

_Aoi looked at him with a pained face, but he grinned. “You, you dumbass.”_

_The brunette up front groaned as he looked over at the driver and he flipped. “You did not do all that shit with your eyes closed!”_

_Kazuki peeked open one of his eyes and gave a slight grin. “Admit it. It was fun.”_

_“No!” They shouted, but then they started laughing._

_“Get us out of here.” Aoi groaned._

_“oh shit.” The driver gasped, looking in the rear view mirror. He saw a truck had followed them through and men were getting out, all armed. “We got company.”_

_Aoi turned to look, then grabbed his pistol. “Well, none of us expected to go back home anyways. I won’t go down without a fight.”_

_Kai also pulled out his pistol, then the other two did the same. “Neither will we.”_

_The blonde took a deep breath, then kicked his door open and started shooting at the men. The brunette also kicked his door open and showed off his excellent aiming skills. Aoi and Kazuki were close behind and the four took cover in the debris as the four army men fired back. Kai raised up and shot one right in the head before dunking back down. They stayed down until others the stopped shooting at them, then they popped up to take their turn, but the three remaining men shot back. A yelp caught their attention as they went back down. They looked over to find Kazuki bleeding from his right shoulder._

_“Shit!” Kai shouted as he raised back up. He took a deep breath as time slowed for him and he shot two of the men in the head, then twice in the last man’s chest._

_“Damn Kai.” Byou shouted looking at the fallen men. “Nice.”_

_The brunette gasped for air as he fell to his knees, his body shaking from the adrenaline rush. Aoi helped him up as the blonde helped their injured friend to his feet. They quickly got back into the truck, Byou got behind the wheel this time, and backed out. The blonde went around the house and sped through the street. Even though his hands were shaking, Kai kept a cloth pressed against his friend’s wound. Byou skidded through streets and rushed towards the city. Aoi kept looking around and groaned when he saw two army trucks turn onto the road._

_“Shit. They’re persistent.”_

_“We’re at the opening to the city.”_

_The raven turned and saw them driving through the gates separating the two areas._

_“Can you be a little gentler?” Kazuki shouted._

_“You’re the one who ran through a house.”_

_“Yeah well, I didn’t have a gunshot wound at the time.”_

_The blonde skidded through the busy streets, dodging other cars and people._

_“Turn here!” Aoi ordered. The blonde turned hard to the left into a small alleyway, losing one of the army trucks._

_“What is that?” Byou said. They looked up ahead to see a large vehicle backing into the alleyway from the right side._

_“A garbage truck.” The raven whimpered._

_“Step on the gas now!” Kazuki shouted._

_The blonde stepped on it and closed his eyes._

_“Open your fucking eyes!” Kai yelled. The driver gulped as he peeked through his eyes to find the space ahead getting smaller and closer. They all screamed as the truck scratched through the space, then they heard a loud crashing noise behind them._

_“I’m not even going to look behind us.” The brunette gasped. “And what the hell was that Byou? I thought you were a man.”_

_The blonde blushed madly, but continued out of the alleyway and onto a busy street. “Let’s get out of here.”_

_Forty-eight minutes later, they were in the desert, heading to their temporary hideout, which took a few hours. They barely made it to the desolate cabin before their truck ran out of gas and started smoking. Byou stepped out and walked to the side of the cabin as the others got their injured friend out of the back. The blonde grabbed a clothe and uncovered a gas filled truck with gas containers in the bed of it. He got in and started it up, then drove over to the other truck, where the other’s were at. Aoi patched up Kazuki, then they sat him in the back of the truck, and went to the other truck to unload. The brunette opened the gate and they started grabbing their supplies and took it to the other truck. Byou jumped into the back and he saw a blanket that wasn’t covering anything before. He looked at it and he knew that he saw it move a little. He grabbed it and yanked it off, revealing a young man curled into a ball._

_“the hell?” Byou shouted. He grabbed the man’s arm and yanked him up, making him yelp. “Who are you?”_

_“Byou?” Kai said as he and the raven walked back around._

_“He was in the back. Are you a spy? Are you trying to get into our headquarters?”_

_“N-no.”_

_“Then why are you in here?”_

_“I-I just wanted to get away.”_

_The blonde kissed his teeth and threw the man out of the bed of the truck. The short man yelped as he landed on his back. “When did you get the truck?”_

_The short man stayed still. “When you guys rammed into the house and started a shoot out. I slipped into the front and climbed through the back window into the bed of the truck.”_

_“So you’re noble.” Byou said pulling out his revolver. “Scum like you, don’t deserve to live.”_

_“Wait.” Kai said. He walked over and kneeled beside the short man. “What did you want to get away from?”_

_“They…when they weren’t beating the slaves, they were beating me. One day a slave took my beating for me and died. I…it’s my fault. I couldn’t save her. I hated my parents for that, for hurting an innocent person just because the laws said they could. It’s wrong. I didn’t want to be on their side, I want to be a part of the rebellion. I thought you’d let me join.”_

_“Why should we let a noble join? You’re probably a spy.” The blonde insinuated._

_“No! I’m not. Please believe me!”_

_“Byou!” Kai shouted. He raised the man’s sleeve to find his arm covered in bruises. “We’ll take him back. Get him checked out and talk to the elders about it. Remember, you do not decide if people live or not.”_

_The brunette helped the man and turned to find Aoi glaring at him. “We should leave him.”_

_Kai glared at him. “I’ll take full responsibility. I won’t let him leave my side until it’s decided.”_

            “Kai, wake up.”

The brunette opened his eyes and looked over at Mao, who had been driving. “Yeah.”

“Look around. We’re home.”

The brunette looked around and saw buildings all around them. He stepped out of the truck and was greeted by a few guards. He grabbed his bags out of one of the trucks and sat them in one of the cars the guards were driving. He looked back to see them getting into the truck with the prince and they pushed the slave off the bed of it.

“Hey.” Kai walked up to them. “He goes and stays with the prince.”

“Why?” One of them asked.

“One: because I said so. Two: we can get the prince to do anything if we threaten the right person.” The brunette glared at the slave, then started walking back to the car, but a yelp caught his attention. He saw them pulling the ashy blonde by the hair into the truck. “Hey, don’t hurt him!”

He got into the car as a guard got in the driver seat and they started towards his house, which only took a few minutes to get there in the car. He thanked the man, then headed to his door and unlocked it. He walked in and dropped his bags, but before he turned on the lights, he saw a figure on the couch. He smiled as he closed the door, then walked over and kneeled beside the couch. He caressed his lover’s head and kissed the chestnut’s cheek.

“I’m mad at you.” Ruki mumbled.

Kai smiled. “I know. I just didn’t want you to get hurt.”

“Everyone looks at me and thinks that you don’t trust me.”

“Baby.”

“Don’t baby me! You took away a chance for people took look at me better. I don’t know if there will ever be another one.”

The brunette sighed. “I’m sorry baby. I…I didn’t want to take the chance of losing you. I uh…I’m really tired. I’m going to bed and I would be really happy if you joined me. If not, that’s ok, I’ll see you in the morning. There’s a spot right next to me on the bed if you change your mind.”

Ruki felt his lover kissing his head and listened as he walked out. The chestnut bit his lip as he gasped in relief. He had been thinking of terrible scenarios these past few days and his lover coming home, proved every scenario wrong. He shook his head not wanting to think about it anymore. He sat up and looked over to find the bedroom light on. He walked to the bedroom door and peeked in to find Kai stepping out of his pants and boxers. The brunette threw his shirt off, then started looking through his dresser for a clean pair of boxers. Ruki walked in, pressed his body against his lover’s back as he wrapped his arms around the brunette’s chest. The chestnut kissed his lover’s neck.

“I missed you.”

Kai smiled. “I missed you too.”

The brunette turned around and pulled his lover into a rough kiss. Ruki wrapped his arms around his boyfriend’s neck as he pushed his body against him. Kai’s hands ventured down and squeezed the chestnut’s plumped cheeks, making him moan. He jumped up, wrapping his legs around the brunette’s waist as Kai held him up. The brunette walked over to the bed where they fell over on it. His lover pulled away to giggle, but started kissing him again. Kai rubbed down the chestnut’s bare shoulder to his arm and hand, then back up. He rubbed his hand down Ruki’s chest and grazed his fingers over the shorter man’s nipple. The chestnut moaned out through the kiss. Kai pulled away to start kissing down his lover’s neck as he rubbed both hands on the chestnut’s body. One hand rubbing circles over the nipple and pinching it as the other hand gently grazed the thin stomach. Ruki giggled as he felt a finger rubbing down his stomach to the rim of his pants.

“Take them off.” The chestnut begged. Kai smiled as he pulled off his lover’s neck and slid down his body. He rubbed Ruki’s thighs, teasing him as he got closer to his member, but pulled away making his lover whimpered. “Stop teasing!”

“But you look so sexy when you beg.”

Ruki blushed as he watched Kai slip off the bed and sit on his knees. He pulled the chestnut closer and spread his legs wider. He placed his hand over Ruki’s crotch and rubbed circles over it, making the short man whimper. The brunette smiled as he removed his hand, but replaced it with his mouth, where he gently bit down.

“K-Kai, please, stop teasing me.”

The brunette giggled at his lover’s bloody red face. “But it’s so much fun and you look so cute when you’re begging. It makes me happy that I’m the only one that gets to see this shy side of you.”

Ruki blushed more deeply and bit his lip, but he moaned out as he felt his lover’s teeth tug at his growing erection. His body shook as he felt his lover’s tongue through the thin pajama pants and he gripped the brunette hair as a surge of excitement shot through him. Kai smiled as he pulled away and stood up. He pulled the black pants off his lover and raised an eyebrow.

“No boxers?”

The chestnut blushed. “I… I didn’t feel like wearing any tonight.”

“I love your way of thinking.” The brunette smiled as he climbed on the bed and laid vertically beside his lover’s head. “Well, come on.”

Ruki licked his lips as he turned over onto his stomach and moved around to swing his leg over the brunette’s head. The chestnut laid on his lover’s stomach and gripped the brunette’s limp cock. He pumped it a few times before slipping the tip into his mouth and started sucking on it. Kai kissed the hanging member above his face before he licked the tip. He rubbed his lover’s inner thighs as he concentrated on the lips suctioning around him. Ruki pulled on it and popped his mouth off before he started stroking it to get his breath back. He went back down to take the tip back into his mouth and started working his tongue around it. Kai moaned a little, but took the other’s member into his mouth, making Ruki whimper. They moaned as they gave each other pleasure, but the brunette didn’t want it to end like that. He pulled away only to lick up the member to the ball sac and to the beautiful hole where he shoved his tongue in beside his finger. Ruki pulled off and moaned out. He tried to continue stoking his lover, but the feeling of being filled was making him wither and shake.

“K-Kai!”

The brunette smiled as he pulled himself away from his lover and got on his knees, then raised Ruki’s butt in the air. “It’s been a while baby.”

Ruki blushed as he turned his head and watched as Kai pulled a half filled bottle of lube out of the nightstand. The brunette popped it opened and drizzled the clear, sticky liquid on his pulsing member. He quickly stroked it, spreading the lube, then took the rest and rubbed it all over his lover’s opening. The chestnut turned with a blushing face.

“I’m ready.”

Kai smiled as he placed himself and started pushing in, making them both moan out. The brunette gripped Ruki’s hips and started a slow pace before leaning over onto his lover’s back. He wrapped one arm around the chestnut to feel his chest, then he started kissing Ruki’s neck. The short man started moaning louder as his oversensitive body was being felt up all over and his lover’s thrusts getting rough wasn’t helping any. The chestnut whimpered as his arms gave out and his chest fell onto the mattress. Kai pressed his hands down on his lover’s back as he continued getting faster, making the shorter man moan louder. The brunette couldn’t take it. He pulled out, making Ruki whimper, but the brunette flipped him over to look him straight in the eyes. He pushed back in, striking his lover’s prostate and making him yell out in complete rapture. He gripped Ruki’s cock and started pumping it to his thrusts. The chestnut whimpered as gripped the sheets and stretched his legs as wide as they could go. He let go of the sheets only to press against his lover’s chest and to dig his nails into Kai’s back. The brunette squeezed his lover’s cock as his thrusts got shorter and quicker.

 _“Oh! Kai!”_ Ruki yelped as he shot his sticky seeds in his lover’s hand and clawed deeper in his back.

The brunette started panting and moaning. _“Fuck! Ru! Ruki!”_

The chestnut moaned out as he felt the other filling his insides. They gasped for air as they fell onto the bed, bathing in the wonderful afterglow. Kai carefully slipped out of his lover, making him whimper, but the brunette lifted him up and turned him around to lay on the pillows. He pulled the blankets out from beneath him, then laid beside him and covered them up. Ruki snuggled up on his lover’s chest as Kai wrapped his arm around the chestnut’s shoulders.

“I’m glad you’re back.” Ruki whispered.

“Me too. I love you so much.”

“I love you too. I love you more than anyone could imagine.”

Kai smiled and kissed his lover’s head, before stepping out of bed only to turn the lights off. He slipped back into bed and hugged his lover tightly as he started drifting off to sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

            Aoi smiled as he walked in the hospital and he waved at the nurses at the desk.

“Coming to see him again?” One asked.

“Checking up on him. Is Kenta here?”

“Yes, his mom said it was ok if it helps the man.”

Aoi shook his head and continued through the double doors and down the hall. He walked in the room to see the young boy eating with him again. “Hey.”

The young boy waved with his chopsticks as the raven walked in and sat down beside them. Aoi looked over, but grunted when he saw the slave’s clothe over his leg, showing his manhood. The raven moved his hand down, making Akira jump, but when he moved the cloth over the area, the slave looked at him strangely.

“Careful how you sit. There’s a kid right here.”

“What?” Kenta whined. “I’m not a kid!”

Aoi laughed a little, but looked at the slave. “It’s been a while since you last bathed hasn’t it? You’ve also been wearing that…small garment this whole time. Don’t you feel… nasty?”

The man cocked his head as he bit into his handful of rice. The raven only sighed, but petted the slave’s head. Akira closed his eyes as he felt the hand gently caress his head and leaned into the feeling more. Then his head was stopped and he opened his eyes to find himself pushing against Aoi’s chest. He turned his head to look up at the man, who was softly smiling. His eyes got wide when he felt Aoi rubbing his cheek. He pulled back, but grabbed the raven’s hand and stared at it, rubbing his thumbs over the man’s soft palm. He looked back at Aoi, then placed the hand back on his head. Knocking on the door caught their attentions and they turned to see a young man standing there.

“The elders are calling all leaders for a meeting. You are to report to the Civil building immediately.”

The raven shook his head. “Wait that means Kai’s back right?”

“Yes. He returned late last night.”

“Alright, I’ll leave in a minute.”Aoi said, then waited for the man to leave before he turned to the slave. “I have to go for a bit okay. I’ll be back later and Kenta will stay here in the mean time. Could you do me a favor?”

Akira looked at him and cocked his head.

“I can do it.” The young boy said.

“No, only he can do this.” The raven sighed and rubbed the other’s cheek. “Don’t freak out when the doctors come in. They need to treat you so you can get better. If you do that, then I’ll…I’ll get you a present. What do you say?”

Akira shifted a little and turned his head down to the table. Aoi sighed as he stood up and walked out.

            Kai opened his eyes to find the sun shining straight on his face. He groaned as he rolled over, hitting Ruki on the head in the process.

“Ow.” The chestnut whined.

“Sorry.” The brunette mumbled. “Morning.”

“Morning. Did you sleep okay?”

“Yeah, but it was too short. I’m still pretty tired.”

Ruki sat up and kissed his lover’s cheek. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s ok.”

“So…we got the prince now, right?”

Kai smiled. “Yeah we got him. He came with a slave too. The guy wouldn’t let Kouyou go alone and he didn’t want to be free. He was weird.”

“We found a slave too.”

“Oh?”

“Hiroto’s grandparents…didn’t make it and he was shot. We found a slave that almost died of heat stroke, but we got him cooled down in time.”

“How is he weird again?” The brunette mumbled.

“The only people that can go near him are Aoi and Kenta, Hiroto’s cousin. Anyone else, he’ll freak out and attack them. He won’t even give us his name.”

“Why Aoi?”

The chestnut sighed. “I bet it’s because he was the first one the guy saw when we saved him. Aoi also pulled him out and stayed beside him the whole way here.”

“Aoi? Seriously?”

“Yeah, I was surprised too. Maybe this guy reminds him of his family.”

Kai sighed. “Who knows? I’m really tired though.”

“Sorry. Let’s go back to sleep then.”Ruki said, snuggling closer to his lover. The brunette wrapped his arms around the other and kissed his forehead. He was just closing his eyes when there was loud banging at the door. He grunted, which made Ruki giggle.

“I’ll be right back.” The brunette sighed, getting out of bed. He slowly walked to the door as the banging got louder and opened up to see a young man. “What?”

“The elders are calling a meeting. You have to report to them immediately.”

 “I’ll be there in a little bit.” Kai drooped his head and closed the door. He rushed back to the bedroom where he found his boyfriend sitting up in bed and he couldn’t help, but laugh.

“What?”

“Your hair.”

Ruki turned in the mirror to see his chestnut hair sticking up in all directions. A few strands sticking straight up, twisted, and frizzy. He giggled and looked at his smiling boyfriend. “So who was at the door?”

“Ah,” The brunette walked to his dresser and pulled out some clothes. “I have to go to a meeting right away. It shouldn’t take long so I’ll be back in a little bit.”

“I guess that works out then.” Ruki said as he watched his lover get dressed.

“Oh?”

“I have to go grocery shopping.”

“I guess I’ll see you later then.”

“Yeah, have fun.”

Kai snorted as he leaned down and pulled his lover into a soft kiss. He pulled away with a smile and walked out of the room, leaving the chestnut alone. Ruki groaned as he dropped back onto his bed.

            Kai walked into the building to find Aoi walking up the stairs.

“Hey, wait up!”

The raven turned and smiled when he saw his friend running towards him. “Hey, I’m glad you made it back safely.”

“You and me both. I heard Hiroto lost his grandparents.”

“Yeah.”

“That sucks. How’s he doing?”

“Not sure.”

When they made it up, they walked down the hallway and to a door with two guards. They walked in to find the elders sitting with seven leaders and eight lieutenants standing beside them. Aoi took his seat in the middle and Kai stood beside the raven’s chair. Then Kazamasa, who was in the middle, stood up with a depressing sigh.

“For those who don’t know…we have lost one of our own along with most of his troops. Manabu was killed during their raid. He was one of our strongest and his funeral will be in one week. You are to all come and pay your respects.” The elder turned and looked at the grieving lieutenant. “You wouldn’t have made a difference Byou. He went into a burning house to save a child and it collapsed. He died and we are to grieve, but you must not show your sadness. You are the leader of your group now, you must show your strength. Now sit.”

The blonde bobbed his head and slowly sat down in Manabu’s seat, then looked up to find the other’s staring at him. Aoi gave a sad smile and patted his friend’s shoulder. They all knew that even though they were step brothers, Byou and Manabu were pretty close.

“Let’s continue.” Kazamasa said, sitting down. “Aoi, you got us a lot of supplies and a lot of food. We should be set for awhile so, I’m giving you, Kai, and the rest of your group time to rest. You need it. Now, we have the prince, it’s time to make a plan. We know the….”

“Hey,” Aoi whispered.

“Hmm?” Byou hummed.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s ok.”

“If you ever need help, come get me.”

“Thanks, but I need to do it on my own. For respect.”

“You two finished?”

They looked up to see the elders glaring at them.

“Actually yes we were.” Aoi said with a smile. The elders rolled their eyes as the others giggled, then they continued.

“So what is Hiroto’s condition?”

“Um…well he’s…”The raven stuttered

“You haven’t seen him yet. I know.” Kazamasa said. “It’s understandable, you’ve been keeping that slave under control.”

“He’s not an animal.” Aoi said sharply.

“Sorry, you’ve been keeping him…calm. Since you are the only one who can get close to him and you are going to have a lot of free time, you’re going to take care of him.”

“Eh?”

“Shush. Now, I know you hate it, but he’s going to live with you. You are going to take care of him and teach him…whatever he needs to be taught. First he needs a physical, he needs to see a therapist, and also, try to find out if he know anything about the Pride.”

“Slaves never know anything. He’s a waste of time.” All heads turned as Miyavi stood from his chair. “You know those bastards inject them with some shit that fucks up their memories. We’ve tried talking to ex-slaves, but they couldn’t remember. All they knew how to do was to have sex and soon after, they forgot that too. The ones we saved are having long term effects from it and need people to take care of them. This one will be no different.”

“He might know something.” Aoi spoke as he stood up. “He remembers something and you can see it in his eyes. He is full of the fear of being hurt. He remembers something, even if it’s just the torture, he remembers. That means, he may remember something about the Pride that we can use.”

“He’s useless. We should be focusing on actually capturing soldiers. They can give us information, they can tell us the plans and strategies. The slave will only get in the way. We should throw him to the wild since he acts like an animal. At least then we have your mind to help make plans against the damn kingdom.”

“Enough!” Kazamasa stood up. “Now, the slave will be living with Aoi since he will be resting for the next month.”

“Month?” they all asked.

“Month. In that time, he’ll help this slave. If we get information from him, great, but if not, so what? We saved him. That’s the end of that. Now, as for the prince, will have a direct teleconference with the emperor to talk about negotiations. Byou will do that when the time comes. In the mean time, find out what is making him sick and treat him for it. We don’t need him dying before the exchange. Byou, you will think of what to exchange the prince for, when you’ve decided, inform me and we’ll talk.”

Knocking at the door caught their attentions, then one of the guards stepped in and ran to the elder. He started whispering in the old man’s ear, making his eyes go wide. “Excuse us, stay here.” He ordered, motioning for the others to follow, and they walked out behind the guard. Aoi and Miyavi sat down as they all looked at each other, then suddenly, four of the elders walked in with angered faces. Soon, Kazamasa walked in, helping a limping man step in.

“Ruki!” Kai gasped as he ran to his hurt lover. The chestnut’s shirt was ripped in half, a bruise was forming on his left shoulder and down his arm, his bottom lip was cut, his cheek purple, and his hair was a mess as if someone tried to pull it out. Ruki fell into the brunette’s arms and started crying.

“Listen up!” Kazamasa was loud and clear. “He is _not_ a spy or a traitor. He is one of us and he is to be treated like one of us. Anyone caught attacking or harming anybody, including Ruki, will be arrested. Tell that to your men and women. We’ll tell everyone else. Do not make us send guards out and make curfews. If someone gets intentionally hurt again, we will. Do you understand?”

“Yes sir.” They all said.

“Good. You’re all dismissed. Kai, get him to the hospital. Make sure he’s okay.”

The brunette shook his head as he lifted his lover up princess style. Aoi walked up to them and followed them out the room. He looked over at the short man crying silently on Kai’s shoulder and gripping the brunette’s shirt. He knew Ruki was being hurt, but this time, he truly realized that the beatings were getting worse, but hopefully that was the last time.

            They walked in the hospital doors and went to the nurses’ station where they got Ruki into a wheelchair. Aoi started towards the back to see how the slave was doing and when he opened the door, he was a bit surprised.

“Don’t worry, it’s ok.” A female doctor said, standing on the other side of the room from the man.

“Like this.” Kenta said, then placed his hand over his mouth and drunk from his cup. “It’s easy.”

The slave looked down at the two white pills in his hand, and hesitated, but placed them in his mouth. He chugged down the water in his cup then looked down at Kenta who smiled big at him. The dark haired man looked away and saw Aoi leaning on the door with a smile. He pointed at the doctor, making the raven laugh.

“I see. You let her in, that’s good. I’m glad.” He walked in and smiled at the doctor. “So, has he…acted out today?”

“No.” She said. “He was quite nervous when I walked in, but he didn’t freak out like the first time. I’ve been standing here for an hour trying to get him to take those pills.”

“What were they?”

“Oh, just some antibiotics just in case he has an infection that we don’t know about.” She sighed. “We need to examine him before he leaves.”

Aoi sighed. “I wonder how we’re going to manage that. Can’t we do it another day? When he’s more comfortable around people.”

“We shouldn’t wait any longer. If he has an infection, then it could be bad. Why don’t you walk him around the hospital, it might help him.”

The raven shook his head and waited for the doctor to leave before he kneeled beside the man. “Hey, you want to walk around bit? Stretch your legs?”

The man looked down at his limbs then back up and shook his head no.

“Why not?” Kenta asked.

“How about this,” Aoi started. “you walk around for me and I’ll…I’ll buy you something good to eat.”

The slave grabbed his half empty bowl of rice and took some out then ate it.

The raven shook his head. “Something even better. Of your choice.”

“You should do it.” Kenta said. “I’ll go with you.”

The slave looked at both of them for a few minutes, then looked at the floor. Aoi sighed as he stood up and as he went to walk away, the man grabbed his arm, stopping him. He watched as the slave slowly stood up and stepped behind him. Aoi smiled and started walking making sure the other wouldn’t trip on his feet. He was cautious as they walked out of the room, so the slave wouldn’t freak out, and Kenta walked beside them giving them a reassuring smile. Everyone watched and stepped back as they made their way down the hallway. As they went through the double doors, they saw Kai talking to a nurse. The brunette turned to find his friend leading a stranger and a kid to them. He stepped away from the nurse and walked up to meet them.

“Is this the guy that only lets you near him?”

Aoi rolled his eyes. “Yep.”

He raised his hand. “I’m Kai, what’s your name?”

The slave stepped behind the raven more and was only peeking over his shoulder.

“Come on, you can trust him.” The raven said. “You trust me don’t you? He’s even kinder and he cooks amazing food. He’ll make something yummy for you if you’re nice to him.”

“Better than rice?” Kenta asked with an excited face.

“Better than rice.”

The man still shook his head no, but Kai smiled as he stepped forward. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

The slave went to turn his head, but something shiny on the brunette’s neck caught his attention. He stepped forward, slowly, carefully and looked him in the face. He raised his shaky hand, but didn’t grab Kai’s hand, he raised it and touched the slightly taller man’s cheek. The brunette raised an eyebrow as he moved his hand down Kai’s neck and grabbed the silver chain. He gently rubbed the chain down to the locket. The brunette’s eyes got wide and his mouth dropped as he watched the man study the locket. Both of them held their breathes as the slave popped the locket open. His whole body shook as he opened it and he breathed out when he saw pictures of him as a child and his brother. He shot his head up and tears flowed down his cheeks.

“Yu-Yutaka?” He whimpered.

The brunettes gasped. “Akira!” He hugged the man, making him lose his balance and they fell to the ground, but Akira hugged back. Aoi stood with wide eyes at the scene, but he smiled. Ruki limped out of the exam room to see find his lover hugging another man, but he knew by the tears in his eyes, that his wish had finally came true. He finally found his brother. Kai whimpered as he pulled his head away and looked his brother in the eyes then rubbed their foreheads together.

“I-I finally found you.”

Akira rubbed Kai’s cheek and let out a soft whimper before he dropped his head on the brunette’s shoulder. “Brother.”

“Um…Kai.” They looked up to see Aoi smiling at them. “I don’t mean to ruin this special moment, but you two should really get off the floor.”

The brunette let out a laugh, then helped his brother up to his feet and hugged him again.

“Ruki,” A nurse spoke up. “We need to get your x-rays done.”

Kai turned to see his battered boyfriend standing there, smiling at them. “Ru…I found him. I found Akira. My brother is safe.”

“I see that. I’m very happy for you.”

“Ruki.” The nurse said again.

“I’ll go with you.” Kai said.

“No, you just met your brother again. I can go by myself. Stay and comfort him.”

The brunette looked down to see the other still quietly crying. He turned his head and watched as the chestnut carefully sat in a wheelchair.

“You can both go.” A female doctor walked up to them. “He needs to be x-rayed too. Maybe you and Aoi can comfort him while he’s laying down.”

He looked at the raven, then at his brother, then at his lover and smiled. “That sounds great.”

            They walked into the small X-ray room and stood beside the bed as the doctor and nurse went to a monitor in the back of the room. Akira gripped Kai’s shirt tightly and whimpered. The brunette raised an eyebrow and looked up at Aoi who scratched his head.

“Let’s have Akira go first.” Melody said as she walked up to them. Kai shook his head and lead his brother closer to the bed and went to help him lay down, but the other backed away. He quickly rushed behind the raven and clenched his shirt.

“Um…” Aoi scratched his head. “I believe he’s scared of beds. He acted the same way in his room.”

“I’ll go first then.” Ruki stood up. “I can show him that it’s safe.”

They shook their heads as Aoi moved so Akira could watch the short man undress and lay down under the machine. They watched quietly as the machine moved and took pictures of the chestnuts body. When he was done, he smiled at the slave.

“Piece of cake. It didn’t hurt at all.” Ruki grabbed his pants and slipped them back on before he sat back in his chair. Kai rubbed his lover’s bruised cheek, then looked at his brother. Aoi turned and smiled at the man.

“It won’t hurt you. I promise.”

Akira bit his lip and looked at the ground. The nurse from earlier walked up to the wheelchair. “We have to go to your exam room and wait for the x-rays to develop.”

Kai turned his head to the raven. “Could you please make sure he does this? I need to be with Ruki.”

Aoi looked at him funny. “Sure.”

The brunette walked over and hugged his brother. “I have to go, but I’ll see you in a little bit, I promise. Be good.”

He pecked his brother’s forehead, then started walking away with his lover and Akira whimpered. He reached out as his brother walked out of the room, but the raven patted his shoulder. “He had to go, but you’ll see him in a little bit. We just have to do a few things, ok?”

The slave turned and looked at Aoi with tear-filled eyes.

            Ruki sat on the bed in the exam room as the nurse left and Kai sat down in the chair. “Why didn’t you stay with him?”

“I would have if it weren’t for your injuries.”

“Kai, I’m fine. You should be with your brother.”

“Tell me what happened.”

“Please.” Ruki whimpered. “I don’t want to.”

“I want to know.”

The chestnut sighed. “Kai, you’re just going to hurt them.”

“They deserve it.”

“No.”

“Ruki!”

“I won’t have you get in trouble! I’ll tell you what happened, but I won’t tell you who.”

The brunette sighed. “Fine.”

“I headed to the store and I thought I saw someone following me. At first, I thought it was just the normal people following me. Then after awhile in the store I saw them and they weren’t the usual people. I was getting a bit scared, so I got everything I needed and got out of there as fast as I could. As I was walking down the road, I saw the three of them getting closer, so I picked up my pace. I was paying so much attention to the ones behind me, that I didn’t see the one in front of me. Before I realized it, he already had a hold of me. The other three ran up and started punching and kicking me. Soon I was on the ground, curled up as all four of them beat me.” Ruki wiped his watery eyes. _“Nobody helped me Kai. They did it in the middle of the street where everyone could see me, but nobody helped me.”_

The brunette stood up and pulled his lover in tight embrace. “I’m so sorry Ru.”

The chestnut sniffled. _“I-it’s ok. Um…I got away and um…_ um…I ran and they followed. I screamed for help when they got a hold of me again. After a few hits, they scattered and two guards ran up to me. I guess I was pretty close to the Civil building because they took me straight inside.”

“I don’t want you going anyway without me or Aoi. Not until I know it’s safe for you.”

Ruki sighed. “You’re making me feel very pathetic.”

“I’m sorry. I just…I can’t stand the thought of you getting hurt. You…you and Akira are all I have. I can’t lose either one of you.”

“What about Aoi?”

Kai laughed. “Yeah I have Aoi, but…” the brunette pulled away and rubbed his lover’s cheek. “he’s not you.”

Ruki smiled as he leaned against the brunette. “Speaking of whom, I wonder how well it’s going in there?”

The brunette bit his lip. “I’m scared to find out. I’m scared to know what Akira’s been through. If just a simple bed frightens him…he’ll never be normal.”

“All we can do is help him as much as we can and try to change his view on life.”

Kai smiled. It wasn’t something he wanted to hear, no he wanted to hear something like : ‘yeah, he’ll be normal someday’ or  ‘Don’t worry, he’ll be back to his old self in no time.’ Then again, one of the reasons he loves Ruki is because of his honesty. In reality, that’s probably all they can do for his brother. It may be sad, but it’s true.

            Kai knocked on a door, then opened it to find Akira sitting on a chair staring at a vase of flowers on the counter and Aoi reading from a folder as he sat on the bed. The raven looked up with a smile.

“I guess the nurse told you we were in here.”

Kai smiled. “Yeah, she said that he might need help staying calm during this.”

The raven shook his head. “How’s Ru?”

“I’m fine.” The chestnut stepped from behind the brunette. “Just a sprained ankle, but I can still walk. Everything else is just bruising.”

“Good.” Aoi said and breathed out. “You know what this room is right?”

“Yeah.” Kai sighed. “they’re going to check him.”

Akira turned from the orange lilies and looked at his brother. He jumped to his feet and ran to hug the brunette, then pulled him to look at the flowers. Kai smiled at the younger man and looked at the long, deep orange petals.

“Ahm.” They turned to see a doctor standing in the doorway. “You’re not allowed to be in here during the procedure, but due to the circumstances I guess you’ll have to stay. You have to stay near the wall though. Akira, come over here.”

The man looked at Kai’s brother, who shook his head, and he walked over to the doctor. He stepped up on the scale in the corner, the doctor messed with the beam, then raised a metal bar to see Akira’s height. When that was done, he led the slave to the bed.

“I need you to remove your clothes and lay down.”

The dark haired man stepped back and hugged himself as he looked down. The others stared at each other with unsure looks, but they shook their heads. Kai made his brother straighten up. “Listen. The doctor has to look at you. We’re going to be right here. If you get scared, we’ll make him stop. If you think you’re going to be hurt, we’ll stop him. But you have to trust us, you have to lay down.”

He whimpered and shook his head no, but Aoi grabbed his cheeks. “Remember what I told you about Kai’s cooking. After this, we’ll go and he’ll cook whatever food you want. I promise.”

Akira’s eyes started to water up as the two forced him to sit on the bed. Kai gently laid him on his back, but rubbed his cheek. “I won’t let him hurt you. I won’t let anyone ever hurt you again. I promise.”

The younger’s body shook as his brother pulled his only piece of protection off and then backed away. The doctor started looking at Akira’s body, slightly pinching his arms to check his fat, then looked at the scars that covered his body. He made it down to the other’s privates and grabbed his thigh, making him jump.

“It’s ok.” Aoi reassured him. His body continued to shake as the doctor walked around, and then he yelped when the man raised his legs, making his knees bend. Kai stepped forward when he saw the fear in his brother’s eyes and he kneeled beside him to rub his cheek.

“It’s ok. He’s not going to hurt you.”

The doctor opened Akira’s cheeks, making cry out and clench his brother’s arms.

“Ok, stop!” Kai yelled. The doctor didn’t move. He was staring at the younger’s private’s with wide eyes until Aoi pulled him away with an angered face. Akira jumped up and hugged his brother’s neck as he cried out on his shoulder.

“The hell is wrong with you?” Aoi asked, shaking the doctor, who was still stunned.

“He…”The man spoke up.

“What?” Ruki asked as he carefully rubbed Akira’s back.

“He was raped in the worst way. He…he has such terrible scars.” The doctor looked sadly at the two hugging brothers. “He needs to see the therapist right away.”

Kai glared at him. “Not today. You’ve done enough damage. He’s coming home with me.”

Aoi looked down at the younger brother to find his face messy with tears and snot. He couldn’t say no to Kai, even though he’s the one who’s supposed to take care of the slave.


	7. Chapter 7

            Loud banging noises woke Aoi from his deep slumber. He sat up and scratched his head only to realize that someone was knocking on his door.

“Aoi help!” It was faint, but he knew it was Kai. He jumped off his bed and ran to the front door and swung open to see a distraught brunette.

“What happened?”

“Oh, my god Aoi it’s Akira!” Kai whimpered.

Immediately, the raven closed his door, grabbed his friend’s hand, and started running down the road. It didn’t take but a minute for them to get to the brunette’s house and when they did, they bursted through the front door. The living room was quietly empty.

“Where is he?”

“In the bathroom, but Aoi you didn’t let…” Kai started but the raven dashed back to the bathroom. “me finish.”

The raven knocked on the door. “Akira, you in there.”

“I am too.”

“Ruki?”

“As I was saying.” Kai said calmly, then went back into panic mode. “Ruki’s cutting and coloring my poor brother’s hair!”

Aoi raised an eyebrow. “What?”

“He’s cutting and—”

“I heard what you said! You made me run all the way down here in my boxers! I thought it was a real emergency!”

“Don’t you get it! It is an emergency! Don’t you remember when he did Miyavi and Melody’s hair?”

Aoi grinned and his face turned red from trying to hold in the laughter.

“Who knows what he’s doing to my poor brother?”

“You do know I can hear every word you’re saying, right?” Ruki said through the door. Kai slapped himself in the head, making Aoi roll his eyes.

“What are you doing to him?”

The chestnut giggled. “It’s a surprise!”

The raven sighed and looked at his friend. “Let’s sit down and wait then.”

He walked to the living room and plopped on the couch, then soon Kai brought in some clothes to wear and sat beside him. The raven got dressed, then looked over at his friend.

“So how did it go last night?”

“Awful.” Kai muttered. “I’ve never seen him so scared.”

            Akira held his brother’s shirt as they walked through the street and as they walked inside the house. Ruki turned the lights on as Kai led the other in the middle of the room.

“Ru, will you make the bed in the guest room?”

“Sure.” The chestnut smiled and walked out as Kai turned to face his brother.

“You look worn out. Let’s get you changed and get you into bed.”

Akira quickly shook his head no and backed away from his brother, who stared at him in shock.

“Listen, you’re not going to get hurt. You’re safe here.”

The brother hugged himself and shook his head no as he stepped back more.

“Akira, come on. You can trust me, you know that.” Kai smiled as he stretched his hand out. The other swallowed hard and hesitated, but he slowly took his brother’s hand. He walked with shaky steps as he was guided through the hallway to a smaller room. Ruki was flattening the comforter when they walked and he turned with a smile.

“It’s ready. I’ll get you some clothes.”

Kai lead his brother to the bed as his lover stepped out, but then Akira pulled away. He was breathing hard, his body started to shake and sweat started forming. He started shaking his head no as he fisted his head. The brunette quickly grabbed his brother’s wrists, but that scared him even more. The younger punched Kai in the stomach and stepped back until he was against the wall. The brunette grunted as he looked up at Akira, who had tears flowing out of his wide eyes.

“Calm down, you know I won’t hurt you.”

His brother whimpered as he took a step to the side.

“Hey I brought some, oh my god Kai!” Ruki shouted as he dropped the clothes in his hand and ran to his hunched boyfriend.

“I’m fine.” The brunette gasped. He looked at his brother, then walked to him and hugged him. “You don’t have to stay in here. We can go in the living room if that’s better for you.”

Akira whimpered, but allowed Kai to walk him out of the room and back into the first room they were in. The brunette led his brother to the couch and made him sit down. Ruki walked in with a blanket and pillow, then laid them on the cushions. The brunette picked the blanket up, then gently pushed his brother on his back where his head was on the pillow. Kai covered him up and kneeled beside him so he could wipe the younger’s tears away. Then he started petting Akira’s head and started humming the song their mother use to hum when they couldn’t sleep at night. The younger brother’s eye went wide as the familiar tune filled his ears. He stared up at his brother, who was softly smiling and it reminded him of his mother and how she smiled all the time. Kai continued on until he saw his brother’s eyelids unwillingly fall shut and sleep forced it’s way on to him.

            “When I woke up this morning, I walked in here and found him wide awake, staring at the wall.” Kai said. “I don’t how long he had been awake, but he didn’t seem to have gotten much sleep.”

Aoi shook his head. “He’ll get better. It’ll just take time.”

“I hope so.”

The raven felt the other’s depression growing, but then an idea popped into his head. “Hey, you still owe Akira a good meal. Why don’t we cook him some breakfast while they finish up?”

Kai smiled. “That sounds great!”

Kai walked to the kitchen as Aoi walked to the bathroom and knocked on the door. “Hey, how much longer are you going to be? We’re making breakfast.”

Ruki smiled as he continued combing Akira’s freshly cut and dyed hair. “I’m going to give him a bath and then we’ll be done.”

“Alright.”

The chestnut waited for the other to leave before he walked to the tub and turned the faucet on. He got the water warm before plugging the tub and turning to the other. “I need you to take that off, so I can clean you up.”

Akira looked down at his cloth and swallowed hard before standing up. His body shook as he looked over at the chestnut, but he saw something in the other’s eyes that confused him. It was mixed emotions, he couldn’t depict what this man was feeling. Sad, happy, regretful, pain, proud, fear, calm. He stepped forward, slowly slipping the cloth off just a little and it fell the rest of the way. Ruki turned to face the wall as Akira walked past him and stepped into the tub. The chestnut turned the water off, grabbed a rag and covered the other’s privates before looking at him with a smile.

“Let’s get you cleaned up.” He said grabbed the soap. He grabbed another rag and poured the sudsy liquid in it. He grabbed a cup sitting on the edge and splashed Akira’s back before he started scrubbing it. The other watched as dirty suds floated around him and he started swirling his finger in the bubbles. Ruki rinsed the suds of Akira’s back and smiled at him.

“Having fun?”

The other looked up at him, then back down at the water and continued playing.

“You want to go walk around after we eat? We can show you around so when you’re more comfortable, you can go out on your own. You can go visit Kenta and hang out with him when you’re bored.”

Akira smacked the water, making it splash. Ruki looked down to see the other slapping the floating bubbles. He was acting just like a kid.

            Kai scraped the last of the eggs onto the plate as Aoi finished filling the glasses with orange juice. They sat up the table as the bathroom door opened up and caught their attentions. They walked out to the hallway see Ruki stepping out with a smile. Their eyes went wide as they saw Akira stepping out behind him. He was wearing a pair baggy pants and a black zip up jacket that was opened up at his chest, but that’s not what got them wide eyed. His hair was cut, spiked up, and colored a light blonde.

“What do you think?” the chestnut asked.

Kai slapped himself on the head. “What did you do to him?”

“I like it.” Aoi said taking a hold of a few blonde strands. “Let’s eat.”

They shook their heads and walked to the dining room where Kai made his brother sit, then he sat beside him. Aoi took his other side as Ruki sat on the other side of the brunette. Akira watched as they picked up their chopsticks and started eating. He went to grab a piece of the eggs, but he yelped from the heat of it. The raven quickly grabbed his hand and looked at it.

“You’re ok. Why did you do that?”

The blonde looked at his fingers then at the food. Kai placed some chopsticks in his brother’s hand. “You remember how to use them right?”

The brunette fiddled with his brother’s hand and picked up some food with it. Ruki sighed as he watched the scene. Having to teach his brother how to eat was hurting Kai’s heart and the chestnut saw it.

            After they were finished eating, Kai ran to get his friend some clothes, then they all headed out to show Reita around. The blonde’s eyes were wide as he looked around at the different people walking around and the stands placed along the street. They described the stands, the roads, where to go when or if wanted to get something, but they weren’t sure if he was listening because he was looking all around almost tripping when Aoi walked too fast. Finally he let go which caught the raven’s attention and he turned to find the blonde walking away. Kai stopped when he didn’t hear the other two and he turned to find his brother walking up to a flower stand. Akira sniffed a bouquet of yellow flowers, then picked one up and turned to the others.

“Hey!” The lady at the shop shouted, scaring the blonde. “You have to pay for that!”

 He dropped the flower as he ran to the raven and hid behind him.

“It was just a flower, you didn’t have to yell at him!” Ruki snapped at the lady.”

“It’s stealing.”

“Ruki, it’s ok.” Kai smiled at his lover, then grabbed his brother’s hand and pulled him over to the stand. He picked up the flower and placed it back, then grabbed the whole bouquet. “Listen, Akira you can’t just take things like that, you have to pay for it with money. If you want something, let me know and I’ll get it for you.”

The blonde watched as his brother handed the lady two coins then handed the flowers to him. He took them and smelled them again before walking over to Aoi, where he grabbed the raven’s shirt. The taller looked at the younger and smiled at him as they started walking again.

            As they walked into Kai’s home, Ruki led the blonde into the kitchen. The brunette sighed and gave Aoi a sad face. “Does he really have to live with you?”

“Kai, I’m sorry. Kazamasa ordered it. Besides, I’m not that bad with a roommate. Do you not trust me?”

“He isn’t a roommate, he’s my brother. He can’t do many things by himself and you aren’t exactly the type who can take care of others.”

“Hey!” The raven said. “I’m capable of taking care of him.”

“I doubt it.”

“You want to bet?”

“I’m not betting on my brother.” Kai glared at his friend.

“You’re not, you’re betting on me. If I can’t take care of him, then I’ll have Kazamasa place him in your place.”

“Fine, let’s see if you can last one week. If not, my brother lives with me, if so, then I guess I’ll be visiting him.”

“Deal.” The raven raised his hand.

Kai took it and shook it. “Deal.”

Akira walked out, holding a vase full of the yellow flowers and stopped in front of them. He pulled one out and handed it to the raven, then pulled another to give to his brother.

“Thank you Akira.” Aoi said smelling the flower. Kai smiled and remembered something.

“I’ll be right back.” He rushed out of the room.

Ruki grabbed the blonde’s shoulder. “Hey, why don’t we look for a name you like?”

Akira cocked his head, but sat on the couch as the chestnut grabbed a book off a shelf behind the tan furniture. He plopped down beside the blonde and opened the book.

“Pick a name you like.” Aoi said. “that’ll be your new name.”

Akira looked up at him with a questioning look as he stood up. Ruki looked up at the raven, then back at the blonde, but before he could say anything, Kai walked in with a big smile. He got in front of his brother, catching his attention.

“I have something for you.”

Akira cocked his head again, but then he saw the brunette lifting his locket. The blonde took it, then looked at the other locket hanging from his brother’s neck. His eyes got wide and he whimpered. He glared at his brother as he waved the necklace in front of his face.

“What are you doing?” The brunette asked.

“Where?” The blonde said. Kai looked at his lover and Aoi, who both shrugged their shoulders.

“What do you mean?”

Akira bit his lip as he looked around, then grabbed his brother’s hand and dragged him outside. The blonde found a patch of dirt and got on his knees in front of it. Aoi and Ruki walked out as he started drawing triangles in the dirt. He drew a line below them, making a crown shape, then he started poking it.

“Where?” They looked at each other then back down at the frustrated blonde. Akira looked at the dirt, then back up. “Kouyou.”

            Guards standing outside a hospital room looked at the group walking towards them.

“What do you need?” One of them asked.

“To talk to him.” Kai said, pushing passed them with his brother right behind him. Akira looked up to find the prince sleeping on a white bed and Shou cuffed to a chair five feet away from him.

“Shou.” The blonde leaped for him and hugged him.

The ashy blonde looked at him funny. “Akira? Is that you?”

The other pulled away and shook his head. He looked down to find his friend cuffed and he looked over at his brother as he yanked the chain.

The brunette looked at the guards. “Release him.”

“No way. He might–”

“I didn’t tell you to chain him up in the first place. Now release him.”

One of the guards walked in and un-cuffed the slave’s hand, then walked out as the ashy blonde hugged Akira. They walked over to the prince where Shou climbed on the bed and laid beside his master. The honey blonde moaned and opened his eyes to find his slave laying there.

“Shou, how did you…”

“Akira made them unchain me.” He whispered.

“Akira?” The honey blonde looked up to find the mentioned man standing beside them in full clothing. “You found safety.”

The blonde bobbed his head and leaned down to hug his friend. Kai, Aoi and Ruki watched with wide eyes at how they interacted. Kouyou hugged Akira back, then after he pulled away, the prince held Shou tightly. The blonde placed his hand on the honey blonde’s head to check for a fever, which made the other giggle.

“I’m fine, I’m starting to feel better.”

Aoi’s brow furrowed as he listened, then he walked over and looked at the chart on the end of the bed.

“Akira.” Kai spoke up catching their attentions. “We need head back.”

“I know you.” Kouyou said making them stare as he pointed at Ruki, whose eyes grew wide. “I remember you.”

“What do you mean?” the brunette asked.

“What was it?” The prince thought. “Matsu…Matsu…ah, Matsumoto. You’re his son. I remember your father beating you at a party.”

The chestnut’s eyes watered up and he ran out of the room. Kai glared at the prince then ran out after his lover. Akira looked at the door then the raven who sighed as he sat the chart down, then reached his hand out. The blonde took and waved goodbye to his friends as they left the room.

            “Ru!” Kai shouted running out the hospital doors. He chased the shorter man down the road and was thankful for his long legs when he quickly caught up with his lover. He grabbed Ruki’s arm and pulled him against his chest as they halted to a stop. “what’s wrong? What happened?”

The chestnut sniffled. “I-I’m sorry. That night he’s talking about, is th-the night my father almost beat me to death.”

“Oh Ru.” Kai hugged him tightly.

“I just want to forget it!” the chestnut cried. “Why can’t I forget it? Why?”

The brunette felt the younger man droop and they were soon on their knees as he cried on Kai’s shoulder. Aoi and Akira soon walked up to the scene on the street. The raven  patted the younger’s back as they moved slowly to the couple.

“Yutaka.”

Kai looked up to see his brother with a worried expression. “It’s ok. He’ll be fine.”

Ruki sniffled as he raised his head up with a smile and he wiped his tears away. “I’m ok Akira.”

The blonde held his hand out and Ruki gladly took it. He helped the chestnut up as Kai got up and wrapped his arm around his lover’s waist. They walked back to the brunette’s house where they sat on the couch as Aoi cooked them some dinner. Kai sat the book from earlier in his lap and smiled at his brother.

“Akira, I want you to listen to me. When we come here, we change our names so that it will be harder for the Pride to track us down. I need you to pick a name that you like.”

The blonde watched as the brunette opened up the book and started listing off the names in it. Ruki smiled at them before he walked to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge.

“You ok?” Aoi said scrapping the pan.

“I’ll be fine.” The chestnut whimpered. “Can Akira stay the night again? Before you take him to your place.”

“Why?”

“It would make Kai really happy if they looked for a name together.”

The raven stopped moving and smiled. “True. I’ll wait and take him tomorrow.”

            Footsteps filled the hallway as a blonde led a few men down the white corridor. He passed through the men guarding the door and looked at the sight in the hospital room. The prince was sleeping, holding his slave tightly, protectively.

“Remove the slave.” Byou ordered. The guards at the door walked in, grabbed the ashy blonde, and pulled him off the bed, waking them.

“Shou? What are you doing?” Kouyou asked as they cuffed the slave back to the chair.

“Bring him.” The blonde ordered. His men walked in and pulled the honey blonde out of the bed to his feet. Byou turned on his heels and led the way out as they dragged Kouyou out of the room. No matter how much the prince struggled, he was too weak to pull away from the men. They walked him out to a car and threw him in, then started down the road. They came to a stop after a few minutes and the blonde walked out to go up to a house that the car stopped in front of. He banged on the door and waited a minute for Ruki to open the door.

“Byou, what brings you here?”

“Kai, needs to come with me.”

“Why?” Aoi walked behind the chestnut and moved him to the side.

“Good, you need to come too. We’re interrogating the prince.”

The raven looked at the short man beside him, then back at the dining table where Kai was smiling as his brother was eating by himself. He looked back and shook his head. “Of course. Give us a minute.”

Byou shook his head as Aoi closed the door. The raven patted Ruki’s back and led him back in. Kai looked up and his smile tensed up. “What’s up?”

“You and I have to go.”

The brunette raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

Aoi looked down at the blonde then at his friend. “Ruki will take care of him. It’ll only be for a little bit.”

“Akira.” Kai moved his brother head to look him in the face. “I have to go and so does Aoi. We won’t be long so don’t give Ruki a hard time. Ok.”

The blonde looked up at him and spread his arms open. Kai hugged the younger, then walked out behind the raven. They got in the truck behind Byou’s, then headed down to the Civil building. As they stepped out, they saw the blonde’s men dragging the prince out of the other truck. They walked into the building, but instead of going up stairs, they went straight down the hallway and to the first hallway on the left. They walked down it and passed many doors before finally going into one on the right. They walked in deeper to find a large screen on the wall with a man in it. His eyes grew wide and he looked over to the side, yelling for someone to get the emperor. Kouyou grunted as he was forced to his knees and his hands tied behind his back. Byou paced in front of the honey blonde as they waited patiently for the emperor to appear on the screen.

“Out of the way.” The voice caught their attentions and they all looked up as the emperor, the empress, and the younger prince appeared with angered faces. “Get your filthy hands off my son!”

 Byou turned on his heels and slapped the honey blonde across the face, earning dirty looks not only from the royal family, but from Aoi and Kai as well. The blonde turned back around. “Do not order us. We’re here to make negotiations. Is that clear?”

The King’s face was burning red. “What do you want?”

The leader maintained a straight face. “Release all Rebellion prisoners. Release everybody from your control. Remove your family from power.”

“How dare you make such—”

“Silence!” The emperor cut off his wife. Then looked down at his son. “If I refuse?”

“Well,” Byou turned again, grabbed the prince’s hair and pulled him into the air, making him yelp. “You have slaves. We’ll use him as our slave. We’ll beat him, starve him, rape him, and everything else you do to those innocent people! We’ll make him regret being born, being your son, we’ll make you wish you had chose this deal!” 

Kouyou looked straight into his father’s eyes and pleaded, but he saw the pride in them as well. “M-my lord.” He whimpered.

His father sighed, then glared at them. “Do what you want. I have another son.”

The prince’s eyes got wide. “ _Father_!”

Aoi stepped in front of the group with a clam and collective aura. “You do realize that your son will be tortured.”

The emperor giggled. “No he won’t. I know you rebels too well. You won’t harm him.”

The honey blonde’s cry, caught all their attentions. Byou was punching the prince’s face, then he raised up and started kicking his defenseless body. Aoi looked to one of the men below the screen and signaled him to shut the monitor off. It went black and lights lit up the room as Aoi turned around and Kai ran in to pull the blonde away. The raven kneeled beside Kouyou and sighed at his condition, then glared at Byou, struggling in his friend’s grasp.

“Get him to the hospital.” The raven ordered. “Get him cleaned up, I’ll talk to him in the morning.”

            Saga looked at himself in the mirror as he finished combing his hair. He took of his heavy coat off as he heard footsteps walking in.

“My lord.”

He turned to find the brown and black haired man kneeling in front of him. “You may stand and speak.”

The man did so. “the test subjects have just been completed.”

The prince smiled and turned to the other. “Take me to them.”

The taller led Saga out of the room and down the corridors to a wall, where he opened a door hidden on it. The brunette walked past him and down the stairs to the white room below. People in white coats bowed as he walked past them and to the giant glass tubes with specimens in them. They looked like large people with fangs, their muscles were huge and grotesque. Their faces were bony, ugly, deformed looking, they were bald and just monsters.

“They’re beautiful.” The prince giggled and he bursted out into laughter. After a few minutes, he calmed down and turned with an evil smile. “How long before I can test them?”

One of the men walked up to him. “Soon. We have to do a few tests. I’m estimating…two to three days.”

The brunette smiled. “Good job, Jin. My plan is falling into place perfectly. All we have to do is keep our mouths shut. You got it!”

“Yes, my lord!” They shouted. The prince looked back to his creatures and his smile grew bigger, darker.

“Kouyou is out of my way. Now it’s only a matter of time before I get what’s rightfully mine.”

            Kai sighed as he leaned on the hospital door, watching the heartbreaking scene in front of him. Shou was crying his eyes out as he hugged and kissed the beaten prince. Aoi apologized before leading the brunette out of the room and out of the hospital. They slowly walked down the road, staring up at the night sky.

“I can’t believe Byou lost it like that.”

The raven sighed. “He asked for too much.”

“You think?”

Aoi bobbed his head. “He should have just asked for the prisoners. That would have worked out.”

“Why didn’t Kazamasa tell him?” Kai asked.

“He wanted Byou to learn from his mistakes.”

“Why would he take such a risk?”

“We can still negotiate. I get the feeling I’ll be in charge next time. Byou will be there to learn.”

Kai shook his head and they continued on in silence. When they reached his home, the brunette opened the door and they quietly walked in to find Ruki sitting beside Akira on the couch. The chestnut was rubbing the blonde’s wet head, he was wearing some of the brunette’s sweat pants and a long white shirt.

“Hey.” Kai mumbled.

They looked up and Ruki smiled as he stood up to hug his lover. Aoi smiled at the blonde who watched the two lovers, then he stood up and walked to them. Kai released the chestnut only to give his brother a big hug.

“You took a bath?”

Akira shook his head yes.

“Good.”

“Tell him.” Ruki whispered.

“Tell me what?”

“He found a name.”

The brunette smiled. “That’s great. What is it?”

The blonde looked down and rubbed his feet together. “Reita.”


	8. Chapter 8

            He watched as his lover slept soundly on the white bed. He studied the blue bruises on the honey blonde’s face, the welts on his forehead, the cuts on his lips and left cheek. Shou walked closer and rubbed the prince’s injured face as he sat on the edge of the bed.

“I’m sorry. I couldn’t protect you.” The ashy blonde whimpered as he gently laid on Kouyou’s chest.

“I’m sorry.”

Shou shot up to find Aoi standing at the doorway. “Stay away from him!”

“I’m not going to do anything.” The raven walked in, rubbing his head. “I just came to apologize for Byou’s actions. He wasn’t supposed to do that.”

The ashy blonde kept his guard up, but allowed the other to get closer. “Is that all you came here for?”

“No. I wanted to talk to the both of you. A few things have…been bothering me.”

“I’m not waking him up for you and I won’t let you wake him either.”

“I see. Well then, I guess I can come back later. If he’s not up when I return, then I will wake him. It’s very important that I talk to him and you.”

Shou watched as the raven walked out and then looked down at his lover. “What could he want to know?”

Aoi walked down to the lobby and looked around, but couldn’t find who he was looking for. “Ruki?” He called then walked around the lobby, then headed to the bathrooms, but his friend was nowhere to  be found. He asked a nurse, but no one had seen him, so the raven walked out and looked around, calling his friend’s name.

            A blonde walking down the street sighed as he looked up at the  clear, blue sky. He had many things on his mind. ‘Kazamasa said I was too rash because of my anger. He said that I need to learn to be calm even though a close friend of mine was killed. He doesn’t understand! Manabu wasn’t just my friend, he was my stepbrother. My brother. My lover. I should have gone with him. I should have been there to protect him…I…I should have never gone with Aoi. My damn obsession of Ruki being a traitor pulled us apart. We fought that night. I remember you telling me that he wasn’t and that you needed me to go with you, but I… just had to make sure Ruki wasn’t going to ruin things. But he didn’t. He… worked hard, he fought beside us and smiled with us. I’m sorry Manabu. I’ll make things right. I’ll…do something. I hope you forgive me and wait for me.’

A bang caught Byou’s attention and he realized that he was crying. He wiped the tears from his cheek and sniffled before hearing that noise again. A cry soon followed along with incoherent insults.

 _“_ Help!” It was a familiar voice, a familiar cry.

He gasped when he remembered Kai and Ruki’s argument before they split up to catch the prince.

**_“Please, let me go!” Ruki was begging the brunette. “Please let me help you!”_ **

**_“No! Now you are going with Aoi whether you want to or not. That’s the end of it!”_ **

**_“But what if something happens?”_ **

**_“Nothing is going to. Now head out with Aoi.”_ **

Byou shook his head as he heard a cry of pain and he rush to the alley a few feet in front of him. He looked down to find shadows moving at the end, things were banging as they were thrown and ran into. He ran in to find a group of people, men and women, kicking a small chestnut.  It didn’t take him but a second to realize that it was Ruki.

 _“Stop!”_ He yelled, pulling one of the women off and onto the ground. The group suddenly turned and charged him, but he wasn’t made a captain for no reason. He swiftly dodged their attacks, only to return punches and kicks tenfold. He didn’t even hesitate to knock a woman to the ground before attacking two of the men. With quick movements, he kicked  each in the stomach, then elbowed them in the head, knocking each one out. He made sure each was out cold before putting his guard down and kneeling beside the injured chestnut. He gently placed his hand on the younger’s shoulder, making him flinch.

“Don’t worry, Ruki. I’m going help you.”

The chestnut whimpered as he looked up with fear, but he was surprised when Byou gently lifted him up. Ruki wanted to wrap his arms around the blonde’s neck so he wouldn’t fall, but he was into much pain, so he just remained limp. As they stepped out of the alley, Byou heard the shorter man’s name being called and he looked down the road to find Aoi looking all around.

“Aoi!” He yelled , making a dash to the raven. The captain looked over to find his friend carrying Ruki as he ran over. Aoi made a dash to meet him halfway.

“What happened?” He asked, taking Ruki from the other’s arms.

“A group attacked him, but I was able to stop them. I have to go back to make sure they don’t get away.” Byou turned to run back.

“Wait.” Aoi ordered. The other turned back to see the other giving a small smile. “Thanks, for saving him.”

            The ticking clock echoed through the empty waiting room. The brunette sitting in one of the chairs watched as his brother stared at the bright fish in the large tank. They had been there waiting for the past hour for the therapist to call Reita in. The door opening caught his attention and he turned to find Aoi walking in, but before he could say anything, he knew something was wrong by the look on the raven’s face.

“What happened?”

The blonde turned from the fish when he heard his brother’s voice and saw their worried faces.

“I’m sorry Kai. He refused to go up to the room with me. He was supposed to stay in the lobby.”

“What happened?” Kai yelled, scaring his brother a little.

“He was attacked again, but they were caught this time. He…he’s in the hospital—”

“Watch him.” The brunette ordered and rushed out of the office. Tugging caught the raven’s attention, so he turned to find Reita looking at him with scared eyes.

“It’s ok. Ruki…Ruki got hurt and your brother is worried. He’s a little mad at me, but it’ll be ok.”

The blonde looked at the floor, but kept his hand tightly on the raven’s sleeve. He tugged the captains arm and led him to the fish tank, where he point at a black and white fish that was swimming back and forth. Aoi gave a soft smile, but he wondered.

“Reita, do you know where we are or why we’re here?” The blonde bit his lip and shook his head no. Aoi shook his head and led the other to the chairs to sit him down. He patted the Reita’s back and smiled. “We’re here so you can get some help. You have to go and talk to this therapist, to see if you can get better. Now, I can’t go in there with you ok. You have to be by yourself in there. Do you understand?”

The blonde bit his lip again and squeezed his hands as e shook. “Hurt?”

“No, no, it won’t hurt. All he’s going to do is talk to you and ask you questions. You need to answer them as best as you can. Ok? After we’re done, I’ll buy you something. What would you like? Ice cream? Clothes? Flowers? Can—”

“Flowers.” He mumbled.

Aoi smiled. “Flowers it is.”

“Reita?” They looked up at the receptionist behind the desk. “He’s ready to see you now.”

The raven pulled the blonde up to his feet and led him to the door across from them. He opened it up to show the peaceful room. A black chair, a black couch, a brown coffee table with orange Dahlias in a vase on it, and a clothe laying on it too. The windows had soft, tan curtains on them, a bookshelf rested behind the desk, which were both a few feet behind the chair and there was a short man with blonde looking at a folder, with his back turned towards them.

“Sit.” He said, not even looking up. Aoi nudged him in with a soft smile.

“It’ll be ok. I’m right out here waiting for you.”

Reita watched as Aoi closed the door, then turned to find the man in the white coat slowly walking over. The shorter blonde looked up, showing off his pierced face. “I said sit.”

The other flinched and quickly sat down on the couch, which made the therapist write something in the folder. Reita bit his lip and his body started to shake as the other blonde sat across from him in the chair. “I’m Kyo. It’s good to meet you Reita. I’ve heard that you’ve been through a lot these past years and I’m here to try and help you. Let’s start by just getting to know each other. So, how old are you?”

Reita slowly looked up to meet the other’s eyes and he opened his mouth, but then shrugged his shoulders. Kyo sighed, knowing that this is going to be difficult.

            Kai walked into a dimmed, white room where he found his lover lying in bed. He walked over to see Ruki’s face swelling, his eyes both black along with his cheeks. His forehead and left arm are bandaged up. He’s too scared to lift the sheet to see his lover’s torso. He quietly sat on the edge of the bed, catching his lover’s attention.

The chestnut peeked his eyes open. “Kai?”

“I’m here baby.”

“I just went out for a smoke.” He whimpered. “That’s all I did. I wasn’t hurting anybody.”

The brunette leaned over and hugged Ruki. “I know. I am so sorry. I shouldn’t have told you to go with Aoi. I could have spent some other time to be with Reita.”

“No. You needed to be with him. I should have went up with Aoi, but I …I was too scared. I didn’t want to see him again. I didn’t want to be reminded.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I can’t take it anymore, Kai. I tried. I really did, but I just can’t take it anymore.”

The brunette sat and rubbed his lover’s cheek. “Don’t say that baby. They won’t ever hurt you again. I won’t let anything ever hurt you again because I’ll never leave your side.”

“But…” He whimpered.

“Nobody’s going to hurt you again.” They looked at the door way to find Byou standing there. “I made sure they were arrested.”

“You…you saved me, didn’t you?”

The blonde shook his head. “It’s about time I got my act straight and actually see things. I hope it’s not too late to tell you that I trust you.”

The chestnut was shocked, but he smiled. “Really?”

“Really and it’s not just me. Just about everyone else does too. We hope that you trust us too.”

“I do and thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

            Loud footsteps echoed through the room as the emperor paced around the chamber. His face was red with anger, his eyes were dark from the lack of sleep and his jaw was hurting from clenching his teeth. The young prince walked in to find the scene quite amusing, but maintained a blank expression.

“Father. Has the general thought of a plan yet?”

The emperor stopped and glared at his other son. “Who gave you permission to enter?”

“I’m sorry. It’s just, I’m worried about my brother. I want to help get him back.”

“What can you do?”

The brunette gave a soft smile. “We know where they are. I have some soldiers who volunteered to retrieve him.”

The emperor looked at his son. “We need more than _some_ soldiers. We need a plan.”

“Just let them try.” Saga smiled. “I mean, it’s better than doing nothing while your son is possibly getting raped at this moment.”

The emperor growled at his son. “Get out.”

The prince bowed and headed out to the general’s war room. He opened the door to find Sakai pacing around as well.

“General.”

The other turned and bowed his head. “My prince, what brings you here?”

“As soon as they’re ready, send them out.”

“I take it the emperor said no.”

“He didn’t say anything. Remember, when they’re ready, send them out.”

“Yes, my prince.” The general bowed as the brunette left.

            Aoi was looking through a book when he heard the door open and he looked up to find Reita walking out with the therapist. The blonde’s head was down as he slowly stepped out. The raven shot up and rushed to him, only for him to lean on the captain.

“What happened? What did you do?”

Kyo patted the younger one’s back. “I asked him a few questions. One got him upset and he cried for a while. If crying a bit makes him this tired, it kind of shows that he’s not getting much sleep. I’m going to prescribe him sleeping pills.”

“What did you ask him?”

“I’m sorry, that’s confidential. Even if I could tell someone, it would have to be his brother.”

“He’s living with me. I’m his guardian and I also need this information. Kazamasa’s orders.”

Kyo sighed. “I need his signature or him telling me. Until then, I can’t.”

“Please.” Aoi begged. “I want to help him too.”

The short blonde sighed. “I asked…if he remembered the day he was taken.”

Reita whimpered, clenching the raven’s shirt. Aoi patted his friend’s back. “It’s ok, it’s ok. Let’s go get your flowers ok.”

Kyo handed over a slip of paper, then they left and headed down the road. As they walked, Reita kept his head on the raven’s shoulder. Aoi rubbed his hand through the blonde locks as he led the younger down to the flower stand.

“Hey, pick out some flowers.”

The blonde looked, but had no response. Aoi picked out some orange lilies, then started towards the hospital to get the prescription. He waved the flowers in front of the blonde’s face, trying to get his attention or at least some reaction.

“Reita, I know you’re upset, but it’s over now. Nothing bad is going to happen to you, I promise.” Aoi rubbed his back as they stepped up to the hospital. “Kai is here. Why don’t you see him while I get your medicine.”

The blonde remained blank, but Aoi proceeded in and led him to the room with the brunette. He looked in to it to find Kai laying on the bed, holding his lover, petting the chestnut’s head. Aoi led Reita over where the brunette smiled at them.

“Stay in here.” The raven whispered, making the blonde sit in the chair, beside the bed. Reita whimpered, looking at the bed. Kai gave a smile.

“It’s ok Reita. Nothing’s going to happen.”

Aoi handed the flowers over, then patted the blonde on the head before walking out.

            Shou gently rubbed the honey blonde’s head as he hummed a tune.

“When’s the last time I told you your voice is beautiful?”

“Kouyou!” The ashy blonde squealed, hugging his lover. “How are you feeling? Are you hurting?”

“I’m fine.” The prince said, rubbing Shou’s cheek. “they didn’t hurt you did they?”

“No. They didn’t touch me.”

“Good. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if you were hurt.”

“Kouyou.” Shou whimpered and leaned down to capture his lover’s lips. The honey blonde rubbed his hand up the ashy blonde’s shirt, lifting it up. Shou moaned, but pulled away from the kiss and pulled his shirt off, giving the prince the perfect view. Kouyou smiled as he rubbed his hands up the ashy blonde’s stomach and chest, where he pinched the harden nipples. Shou whimpered, but started grinding his hips against his lovers’. The honey blonde smiled as he grinded back and moved his hands down to the slave’s hips. Shou rubbed his lover’s stomach, lifting the white shirt and stopping the prince’s hand as he pulled the clothe off. The ashy blonde swallowed hard as looked at his lover’s amazing body. He leaned over and started kissing down Kouyou’s neck to his chest. He slowly moved down, leaving hickies along the way. The honey blonde petted Shou’s head as he pulled the white pants down with the boxers. The slave grabbed the slightly limp member and pumped it with a smile. He kissed the tip before licking it up, then around it. The prince’s face turned red as he watched his lover suck on his tip with innocent eyes. He moaned out, feeling the other’s tongue, lips, and wetness engulfing him. The growing sucking feeling started making him sweat, breath hard and push Shou down more. The ashy blonde slowly sucked up then went down and tugged the member before pulling back up. He pulled off with a pop, but massaged the hard cock as he looked up.

“Can we go farther?”

Kouyou bit his lip, but wiggled his finger and Shou crawled up. The honey blonde pulled him down into a rough kiss, then flipped over so that he was on top. “I’ll try to be gentle.”

The ashy blonde smiled as he blushed and spread his legs. The prince sat up and pulled the pants off before leaning down to kiss him. He rubbed one hand on the slave’s thigh, while the other petted the smaller member. He pulled his hand off the thigh and pecked the other’s forehead.

“Relax. I’ll be gentle.” He said before sticking his fingers in his mouth and lapping them up. He pulled them out then went back to kissing his lover as he slipped one of his fingers passed the tight ring of muscles. Shou whimpered, but stayed relaxed and kissed back as he hugged the prince tightly. Kouyou swirled his finger in circles, pulled it in and out, before adding a second finger. He started moving them in circles, thrusting them, and scissoring them as his other hand continued pumping his lover’s member. The ashy blonde pulled off to moan out and thrust his hips.

“Ready?” The honey blonde whispered. Shou shook his head and bit his lip as his lover raised up. Kouyou spread the slave’s legs and placed himself at the swelling entrance. He pressed the tip against it, making Shou whimper, but he massaged the other’s cock to distract him. The ashy blonde concentrated on his lover’s hand as best as he could, but the stinging pain that shot through his body as Kouyou pushed in more was too much. He dug his nails into the prince’s back as he tried to keep his lower body relaxed.

“You’re doing great. I’m all the way in now.”

Shou peeked his eyes open, letting a tear fall. “Really?”

“Yes. Would you like me to move?”

“Please.”

Kouyou gently pulled out, then slowly pushed back in, rocking his hips as gently as possible. He leaned over to hug Shou and the ashy blonde hugged back tightly as they started kissing. They moaned through their kisses, thrusts and grunts. The prince made sure to move his hand down to massage the other’s member as he started getting rougher. Shou moaned out and arched his back when he felt something good. Loving his reaction, Kouyou kept doing it, making the ashy blonde more excited.

“Close!” Shou shouted, making the prince happy. The ashy blonde moaned, arching his back as squirted his milk all over his lover’s stomach. The feeling of the warm seeds hitting his torso pushed the honey blonde over his limits. He moaned as he thrusted hard one last time and filled his lover. They gasped for air as Kouyou carefully pulled out and crawled to his lover’s head. He laid down on Shou’s chest and kissed his lips.

“Was I good?” The ashy blonde gasped.

The prince smiled. “You were amazing.”

            Aoi walked down the hallway to the prince’s room. He walked past the two guards and stepped in, closing the door. He looked up to find both men shirtless, Shou sleeping on the honey blonde’s chest as Kouyou held him protectively.

“What?” The prince asked, making the drowsy slave open his eyes. Shou looked up to find that Aoi had return. The raven smiled as he walked in and sat down.

“I wanted to talk to you two.”

“About what?”

“A few things. First…I wanted to know how Reita was treated when he was a slave.”

“Who?” Shou asked, sitting up.

“Akira. Reita is his new name.”

“Oh. He…it’s terrible.”

“I need to know.”

“Need or want?” Kouyou asked as he sat up as well.

“Ok, I am a bit curious, but he’s living with me now. I need to know what to be careful about. How I touch him, talk to him, stuff like that.”

“He had it worse than most of us.” The ashy blonde mumbled. “Sakai was his master. Sakai is a very cruel man. From what I’ve seen, he beats his slaves and tortures them to death. Akira…I mean Reita, would be tortured, but his body was able to handle it better. That didn’t stop Sakai, but it didn’t get much worse. He was raped every night by Sakai, bound to the bed for days and starved. He was lucky to get feed once a week. He refused to speak. I don’t know all the details, only he or another one of Sakai’s slaves can explain it.”

Aoi looked down. “I thought so. I knew he went through hell, I just didn’t know how much.”

The prince looked down. “Is that all?”

“No.” The raven shot back up and had a stern look. “How have you been feeling?”

“Why?”

“Just tell me.”

The honey blonde thought for a second. “Better. A lot better. I don’t feel nauseas or weak. I…I have energy. Was I treated?”

Aoi sighed. “No. You treated yourself.”

“What do you mean?”

“You ate, rested, used the bathroom and you got it out of your system.”

Shou and Kouyou looked at each other then at the raven. “Was I… was I being poisoned?”

“Yes.” The captain stood up. “whenever you ate, you were poisoned, then you came here and received untainted food. Even though it’s only been a few days, you’re better.”

Kouyou looked down at the floor. “Why…who would poison me? I… who would want me dead?”

Shou rubbed his lover’s cheek. “You’re safe now so it’s ok. It is ok right? You won’t let us go back to that place will you?”

Aoi was shocked. He never expected to hear something like this. He watched as the two lovers hugged and kissed. He excused himself so they could rest and so he could think. How would he explain this to Kazamasa? Or to the others? How would tell them that someone wants the prince dead and that the only place he’s safe, is here in his own enemy’s territory. Something more is happening in the kingdom and they need to know what it is before everything comes crashing down.

            He walked in Ruki’s room to find Reita holding his knees as his brother was sleeping with the chestnut. He placed his hand on the blonde’s shoulder, making him jump.

“Hey, it’s me. No need to be scared.” Aoi giggled, but Reita looked down. The raven lifted his head.“Let’s go home so you can sleep. Your brother needs to rest here for a while.”

The blonde stood up, revealing the orange lilies he was holding, which made Aoi smile. The raven led the way out and soon they were walking down the street to his home.

“Now, you won’t be living with Kai. You’ll be living with me from now on, but don’t worry. Your brother is going to come see you every day.”

The blonde clasped the other’s shirt and looked down at the flowers in his hand, so Aoi wasn’t sure if he understood or not. He continued on in silence until they walked up to his home where they walked in together. Aoi led him to the living room before getting a vase for the flowers. Reita looked around and found a picture frame on the coffee table. He looked to find two parents and a child, but he put it back down and waited. The raven returned with the vase and placed it on the table, that’s when he noticed the blonde sniffling. He looked up to find tears in Reita’s eyes, which made him confused. Aoi rubbed his thumb over the other’s cheek.

“What’s wrong?”

“Sorry.” He whimpered. The raven was still confused and looked down to see if he broke something, but instead, he found a large wet patch on the front of his pants.

“You pissed yourself. Reita, you could have told me that you needed to use the bathroom, I would have showed you where it was.”

“Sorry.” He started to cry and dropped to the floor into the fetal position. Aoi raised an eyebrow and sighed.

“Come on.” He lifted the blonde up to his feet and led him to the bathroom. “Let’s get you cleaned up.”

Reita watched as the captain started the bathwater, bring in some clothes and two towels. He bit his lip as Aoi pulled his shirt off, the grabbed the rim of his pants.

“I won’t do anything. I promise.”

The blonde looked into his eyes and felt…safe. He allowed the raven to pull his pants and boxers off, then he got in the tub of warm water. Aoi poured a cup of water on his head, then some soap and started scrubbing his blonde hair. The younger grabbed the elders hands and looked up at him.

“What’s wrong?”  The raven asked, but then saw some suds in the other’s eyes. He smiled as he reached over to grab the rag hanging from the opposite side. Not really thinking, he put all his weight on the hand that was on the wet edge…which slipped, making him lose his balance. Water splashed and overflowed the tub as he landed right on top of the blonde. He pulled up to see Reita staring up at him with wide eyes and pink cheeks.

“I’m so sorry. Are you ok?”

The blonde sat up, making Aoi move a little to give the other room. Reita looked down, grabbed the captain’s hand and placed it on his soapy head, then laid on Aoi’s chest. The raven was shocked, but saw the curiosity in the other’s eyes. Maybe it was from watching his brother and Ruki earlier. Who knows? All Aoi knew, was that he had to be careful. He gently caressed Reita’s head and the other was quite comfortable with it.

            Saga was staring at himself in the mirror, his face flushed, sweat dripping from it and eyes squinted. He moaned out and arched his back as he came inside the black and brown headed man’s mouth. The man pulled off and looked up at the prince.

“Swallow.” The man did as told then waited for his next order. “Get up.”

The man did so as Saga stood up and fixed himself just in time for Jin to walk in. “My prince.”

“What is it?”

“They’re ready.”

The brunette gave a dark smile. “Perfect. Shinya, inform General Sakai. They leave tomorrow, no exceptions.”

The man bowed his head along with the scientist. “Yes my lord.”

“By the way, my dear assassin, don’t forget what to do when my _half_ brother returns.”

“I won’t, my lord.” Shinya bowed again and quickly exited with Jin. The light brown scientist looked over at the assassin.

“Are you really going to do it?”

Shinya scowled. “I despise him. He turned us into monsters. It’s only proper he’s killed by monsters.”

“You’re not a monster.”

The darker haired man stopped. “Yes we are. We can kill and betray without hesitation. We were created for this purpose. We were born for this purpose. It’s our only reason for living.”

Jin looked down. “Is that what you truly believe? That you were only born to kill.”

“That _is_ why we were born. That was the only reason our parents had us. To hand us over to kill the enemy. I will kill my enemy, no matter who it is.”

“Even Ruki?”

Shinya stopped. “I’ll show no mercy, not even towards my own blood. Ruki, will have no mercy from me, no matter how much he begs.”

“You’re monster.”

Shinya started walking and gave a small, rare smile. “Aren’t we all?”


	9. Chapter 9

            The raven stepped out of his room and into the living room to find the sun shining brightly through blinds. He walked over and looked at the blonde sleeping peacefully on the couch. He walked over and closed the blinds before he walked over to the younger and petted his head. Reita didn’t move, but breathed heavily as his deep sleep continued. Aoi couldn’t believe how strong those pills were and was happy he slipped them into the blonde’s drink. Reita really needed this rest. He looks calm, worry free and stress free. His muscles are not tense or shaky.

~          Ruki opened his eyes and found his lover slicing an apple up. He grunted as he sat up, which caught Kai’s attention. The brunette scooted closer and rubbed his lover’s cheek before kissing his lips.

“Morning. You aren’t too sore are you?”

“I’ll be ok.”

Kai smiled and placed an apple slice against lover’s mouth, who gladly took a bite. His bruised jaw made it hard for him to chew, but he knew he needed to eat to get his strength back. “Those bastards are sentenced to hard labor with supervision as their punishment. It’s not right. They shouldn’t get off so easily. They deserve to die.”

“Kai.”Ruki whimpered. “Don’t say that. They are just…confused. They don’t know how to accept things. That’s all.”

“How could you say that after what they’ve done to you?”

“I…I deserve it.”

The brunette’s eyes grew wide. “No you don’t. Why would you say that?”

“Kai I…” The chestnut looked away and hesitated, but looked up with a sad smile. “I forced myself into this place. I provoked them and… and…”

“No, you didn’t. You’ve done nothing wrong.”

Ruki looked away, his eyes filled with guilt, guilt that the brunette was too blind to see. Kai cupped the chestnut’s cheeks and pulled him into a loving kiss. The younger gently kissed back, concentrating on the pure love he was receiving. The brunette slowly pulled away and peeked his eyes open to look at his lover.

“You’re so beautiful.”

Ruki blushed and looked away. “Th-thank you.”

His face was turned back only to get kissed again and the force made him fall back. Kai gently rubbed his hand down his lover’s arm as the chestnut clenched the elder’s hair. Kai pulled an inch away and stared deeply into Ruki’s eyes.

“I love you.”

The chestnut blushed innocently. “I love you too.” He whispered, pecking his lover’s lips. They sealed the space between them once again and threw the covers over their bodies, hiding the source of the future creaking bed.

~          Aoi sat the second plate on the table and looked at the couch to find the blonde still there, so he walked back in to grab some drinks. He poured two glasses of orange juice, then walked out, but was startled when he found Reita standing by the table, completely naked. The raven sighed as he placed the glasses down.

“Let’s get you dressed.” He grabbed the other’s hand and led him down the hallway past the living room, to his bedroom. He grabbed a shirt, boxers, and a pair of pants, then sat them on the bed. He smiled at the blonde and pointed at the clothing. “First lesson of living here. You have to dress yourself.”

Reita walked closer to the items as the other pulled out some for himself. The blonde watched Aoi get dressed and imitated him. Slipped the shirt on first, the boxers second, then slipping one foot in the pants, then started with the other foot when he lost his balance. He whimpered and closed his eyes as he started falling forward, but then, strong arm wrapped around him, stopping him. He opened his eyes to find himself being held tightly in Aoi’s arms.

“Are you ok?”

The blonde’s cheeks got red and he pushed away with wide eyes. He looked at the ground as he placed his hand on his chest, feeling the fast heartbeat. This feeling…this foreign sensation made him confused, but also…a distant feeling that he wasn’t quite sure of. He was surprised when the raven pulled the pants the rest of the way up and buckled them up. He gripped the younger’s hand and pulled him out to the dining room. They sat down, grabbed the chopsticks, and started eating.

“Thank…Thank you…Aoi.” The blonde whispered, shocking the raven.

He smiled. “You’re welcome. You should talk more. I really like the sound of your voice. It’s nice and I won’t feel as lonely here if you did.”

Reita looked up at the smiling lips, happy eyes, and pink cheeks. “Kai…will like it, too.”

“He will. Do you remember Kyo?”

The blonde looked down. “Yes.”

“You have to go see him again.”

“No. He…”

“I’ll go in there with you. I’ll be there for you. I’ll make him stop when he needs to. Ok?”

Reita bit his lip and looked down. “Promise?”

Aoi’s eyes got wide, but he moved his hand, lifted the other’s head, and looked him in the eyes. “I promise.”

~          Loud footsteps echoed throughout the hallway as the emperor made his way down to his stepson’s room. He swung the door open, startling the young man who was sitting at his vanity.

“Father? What brings you here?” Saga asked as he stood and bowed.

The elder sighed, but kept a glare. “If Kouyou… if the first prince doesn’t return alive, then I have no choice but declare you as my next heir.”

The prince maintained a straight face even though he wanted to smile. “Father?”

The emperor walked in more and sighed. “Kouyou was my whole world. Did you know that? I was harsh towards him in hope of making him stronger, but I should have known better. Not only did he have his mother’s beauty, but her heart, her strong will…her illness. I was…already about to announce that Kouyou would no longer be next in line. I wanted him to go live somewhere he would love and be at peace with his remaining lifespan. I fear…I fear I’ll have to watch another person I hold dear, die right in front of me. I wanted to keep him safe and healthy. I went the completely opposite direction. I punished him, forced him to do things, and made him sicker.”

“I never knew you had a weakness.”

His father glared at his son. “I have no weaknesses! They died when my wife died. Kouyou… Kouyou is just a pathetic imitation. I have a living heir. That is all that matters.”

Saga watched father stomp towards the door, but stopped him with his words. “Does that mean you’re not planning to get him back?”

He looked at his son. “I can’t waste my military on him. You may send your men if you wish. If they do find Kouyou, I want him home, safe and sound.”

Saga watched as his father left, then sighed as he plopped back into his chair. He looked into his mirror at the reflection of the large red curtains covering his window. “How long do you plan on hiding there, Shinya?”

The elder stepped out swiftly and walked over to bow. “I wanted to make sure he wasn’t going to walk back in. It would be bad if he saw me near you. He would start asking questions.”

“True enough. My father’s personal assassin has no reason being anywhere near me. So, what news do you bring me?”

“They’re ready and a new sign has occurred on the clone.”

The prince smiled. “Let’s go.”

They made their way to the secret lab to find Jin releasing the last modified soldier out of his tank. The creature walked over and lined up with the other four. Jin turned and bowed to the prince before looking at him.

“They have been completed.”

Saga walked in front of them and smiled even bigger. “I want them sent out immediately. Father has approved it. Now, what of the clone?”

Jin bobbed his head and waved his hand for the prince and Shinya to follow him to the back to a smaller tank. A perfect replica of Kouyou was floating the tank with a air mask on.

“The lungs have started to form and his heart is beating. He’s alive and perfectly cloned. My greatest achievement.”

“Oh…”Saga muttered. He looked at the metal chair placed at the computer controlling the tank. He grabbed it and slammed it against the tank, breaking the glass. The water spewed out and the clone fell out onto the floor.

 _“Prince Saga?”_ Jin screamed. He knelt beside the body and checked it’s neck. “ _Get another tank ready, quickly, before we—”_

“Silence!” The price shouted. “Sorry to ruin it, but I didn’t want it to live long. Just enough for a doctor to say he died. You can make another person if you like. I just needed this. Whether the real Kouyou is dead or not, after the attack, I want this body presented to my father. Then, there is no way I can lose my crown.”

Jin looked sadly at the creature, dying from the lack of oxygen. Shinya sighed. “Am I going?”

“No. I’ll have someone ‘retrieve’ my dear brother’s body.” The prince said walking to his monsters. “Listen up. You’re main mission, is to find my brother and kill him. If you look at that dead creature over there, that looks exactly like him. After he is finished, you can wreck as much havoc as you want on that place. You leave at once. Get them ready Jin.”

“Y-yes sir.”

Shinya followed the prince out to the hallway. “You do realize that they will die, killing the prince or not.”

“I know. Their usefulness will be over the moment my brother takes his last breath.”

~          Gasps filled the room as the two lovers kiss through their afterglow. Their bodies drenched in sweat, their hair sticking to their faces and the sheets sticking to their bodies. Kai moved down and started sucking on the chestnut’s neck.

“You ready to go home baby?”

Ruki smiled and huffed. “Yeah.”

“Did I wear you out?”

The shorter laughed. “A little bit, but it was worth it.”

Kai slid his fingers up the other’s arm and laced them with his lover’s. “Is it still worth it?”

“Huh?”

“Another round?”

Ruki smiled as his other hand wrapped around the other member and started pumping it, making his lover moan. He raised up and licked Kai’s earlobe before nibbling on it. “You want me to ride you?”

“Oo, baby. You know how I like it.” He wrapped his arm around Ruki’s back and flipped them both over. The chestnut continued stoking his lover as he adjusted himself.

“Ruki, it’s time for your—Oh my!” The nurse yelped after she opened the door. Her face turned red as they turned and saw her looking down at the clothes on the floor. “S-sorry, I’ll be back later!”

She slammed the door, making the two lovers burst into a fit of laughter. They looked at each other and laughed some more. They’ve been caught so many times, it’s no longer embarrassing for them.

Ruki smiled big. “Let’s continue.”

~          Reita stared at the floating fish in the tank. He tapped the tank a bit until the secretary snapped at him.

“Sleeping.” The blonde said. “It’ll drown.”

Aoi walked over and patted his friend’s back before pulling him back to the seats. As soon as they sat down, Reita stood back up and walked over to the flowers, then walked over to the window and watched the people walk by. Then something caught his attention. A small, orange butterfly. He hummed at it and went to grab it, but hit his head on the glass. Aoi tried to hold back his giggles as the blond rubbed his forehead. The younger looked up to find birds flying over and clouds moving overhead.

“Reita.”The voice scared the blonde. He slowly turned to find Kyo standing at the door with a smile. “You’re next.”

Aoi got up and walked over to the therapist. “Listen. He’s kind of scared of going in there. I told him I would go in with him so he wouldn’t get scared.”

“No.”

“If I don’t go in, then he won’t go in.”

For a moment, the two held a glaring contest as Reita continued poking the window, trying to get to the orange butterfly.

“You’re not going in there.” Kyo ordered.

“Then neither is he.”

“He has too! Now I will call to have you removed from this office, if you do not back off!”

Reita turned around and saw both men with red faces, fists clenched. The blonde felt a hard heartbeat and before either man could blink, he was in front of Aoi, arms wide open, staring at Kyo. The short blonde gasped when he saw the familiar eyes. Reita’s irises and pupils shrunk to a centimeter in diameter, the darkened red veins snaked their way to the circle. Kyo stepped back and swallowed hard.

“It’s ok Reita. He can come in with you.”

“Reita?” Aoi asked, grabbing the blonde’s shoulder, making him flinch. The younger’s eyes went back to normal and he looked around for a moment, then turned to face the raven.

“When… I move?”

The two men looked at each other, but Kyo patted the other blonde’s shoulder. “Don’t worry. Why don’t you go ahead and sit down. Aoi and I will be in there in a minute.”

“Mmm…”

“I’ll let you draw.”

Reita scratched his head, then looked at Aoi, who bobbed his head. The blonde walked in as Kyo stepped closer to the captain.

“What just happened?”

The blonde whispered. “He’s strong, just like Kai.”

“Oh?”

“Just as protective too.”

Aoi watched as the shorter walked into the room, then walked in behind him and sat beside Reita.

Kyo grabbed his file and put on his glasses. “We’re going to pick up from last time. Reita, when was the last time you saw Kai? Was it the same day you were taken?”

The blonde rubbed his feet together before bobbing his head.

“Do you remember what the first thing they did to you?”

Reita started shaking and shook his head.

“What was it?”

The taller blonde stood up and shook his head no, then gripped his hair. Aoi went to get up, but Kyo glared at him, silently telling him not to.

“Reita, what happened?”

“ _No!”_ The younger screamed, swinging his fist into the vase on the table, breaking it. He screamed as he fell to his knees and clenched his head again. Aoi kneeled beside him and carefully touched his back, making him flinch.

“Get away from him.”

“He’s in pain!” The raven shouted. “He can’t take living that shit over again. Shou told me that he was owned by the worst master and was tortured. How will it heal him if he has to relive that ordeal again? It’ll make him worse.”

Kyo closed his eyes. “This has healed many people with mental problems.”

“He doesn’t have one.” Aoi said. “He has problems trusting people. I got him to talk this morning. He’s strong…like Kai. He…he’ll get through this, we just need to be gentle.”

“You’re making it quite difficult to do my job.”

Aoi looked away from him down to the sobbing blonde. He sighed as he pulled Reita into a hug, allowing the blonde to cry on his shirt. Reita wrapped his arms around the elder’s back as he buried his face in the captain’s chest.

~          Kai smoothed out his black shirt before looking back at his lover, who was finishing buckling his pants. The chestnut looked up and blushed at his lover.

“Why are you so embarrassed?”

Ruki giggled. “I was thinking about how we can enjoy tonight. Your brother won’t be there, so we can be loud as always.”

Though, as much as he wanted his brother there, the brunette wanted to get back their crazy sex life. “True. Before that though, I have a meeting. I’ll get you home and have someone stay with you. Maybe …um…”

“I’ll be fine.” Ruki rubbed his lover’s cheek. “They were caught remember?”

The brunette smiled as he watched the other slip his shirt on, then they joined their hands together and walked out of the room.

            As they walked down the road to their home, they found Aoi and Reita walking in the same direction. Kai smiled at his lover, who smiled back as he shook his head and they started jogging to their friends. As they got closer though, Kai slowed down and gasped. The chestnut looked at him strangely then looked ahead to find Aoi’s arm around the blonde’s shoulder, holding him closely, protectively. They continue to follow them until the raven stopped at the flower stand, then the two lover’s stopped as well. The short man watched as Reita picked up some yellow roses and showed them to the Aoi, who smiled and stroked the blonde hair out of the younger man’s face. Ruki hissed at the pain in hand. He looked over to find Kai’s face red and filled with anger.

“K-Kai, you’re hurting me.”

The brunette snapped back to reality and looked down at the bandaged hand he was crushing. He quickly let go and watched as his lover brought it up and rubbed it. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

“Why are you so angry?”

“Aoi has no right touching my brother that way.”

“He’s not hurting him. It looks like Rei is comfortable with it.”

“I’m not going to let my brother go through hell again!” The brunette snapped. “I know Aoi would never intentionally hurt him, but that man hurts everybody he falls in love with.”

The chestnut raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

“Because he’s an idiot. He doesn’t think and acts on instinct. Which, for him is good when dealing with an enemy, not good when dealing with his heart.”

Ruki looked back over to find Aoi gently rubbing the blonde’s back as they continued walking down the road. “You should give him a chance. It’ll be good for Reita. To know the difference between lust and love. Let him have a normal life.”

The brunette looked at the ground. “Aoi…doesn’t even know the difference between himself. That’s why he fucks up his relationships. He’ll get happy in his pants, lose control and want to fuck. I can’t let him do that to my brother.”

The chestnut stepped in front of his lover and rubbed his cheek. “Were we so different? Give them a chance. If you see it coming, pull Reita away, but until then let them do this. It’ll help the both of them.”

“Fine, I’ll give him _one_ chance only.”

Ruki giggled. He loved it when he convinces Kai do to things. They held hands as they walked down to his home where he dropped the chestnut off, then headed to the Civil building.

            The brunette joined up with Aoi, who was waiting on the steps for him and then they headed up. Kai bit his tongue from yelling at the raven and lecturing him to stay away from his brother. They made it up to the conference room where the others were waiting patiently as they walked.

“Don’t sit.” Kazamasa said to Aoi. “We need to make this quick. Why did you call this meeting?”

The raven took a deep breath. “Well, for one the prince is getting better.”

“That’s all?” Miyavi spoke up.

“No. Now shut up and don’t interrupt me again.” The captain said sternly. “Now, I had a few doctors look at his blood and such. The prince was being poisoned before he arrived here. I have a couple of theories. Someone wanted him sick enough that he left the kingdom. Someone wants him dead. Or both. That may be why the king didn’t want to negotiate. There was no point since his son was meant to die, meaning there’s no point in using the prince anymore. Instead, I think we should keep him here and protect him.”

“What? Are you crazy? No way. He’s a menace!” their voices overlapped with each other, yelling at the raven.

“Silence!” Kazamasa yelled. “Aoi, explain.”

“His slave begged me to protect him and let them stay here. They don’t want to get hurt and he thinks we’ll protect them. Listen, all of you. We’re not here just to fight. We’re here to make a difference. To change this place for the better and help those in need. When the first leaders of this rebellion set this up, they didn’t want pointless death. They wanted their freedom and freedom of others. Our views have changed because we fight to survive, but that instinct is turning into bloodlust. Hear me out when I say this. Maybe we can’t beat the kingdom, but we might be able to take down the royal family. I know we’ve tried this many times, but it’s different now. We have Reita’s memory, we just have to unlock it. He knows around the palace and if that doesn’t work, we have the prince. He can lead us in. We can show him our ways. Now the Kingdom will be for the royal family no matter what we do, but what if the royal family is with us? Kouyou can become emperor and change his kingdom.”

They looked at him with wide eyes and Byou finally spoke up. “I’m sorry Aoi, but it’s a stretch. How do you know if the prince will even cooperate or not?”

“I saw it in his eyes.”

“Aoi, we need more than that.” Miyavi spoke up this time.

“My instincts have never failed me before. I believe this can work. I hope I made you it believe too.”

“I do.” Kai spoke up. “I’m not saying that because he’s my captain. I put my life in his hands all the time he makes sure he does what’s best for everyone. This plan can work, but only if we make it work.”

The doors slammed, catching all their attentions and making them jump to their feet. Kazamasa stood as the man rushed over. “What is the meaning of this?”

“ _Sorry.”_ The man gasped. “ _But…outside… in the forest. Monsters. They slaughtered the guards. They’re making their way in. I’ve sent for the signal to be sounded. Those things, aren’t human. They’re twice our size, huge and there’s five of them.”_

“Hizumi.” Aoi ordered. “You and your men get the elders to safety. Miyavi, you and your men scout the city. Make sure everyone is inside.”

“Right!” they both shouted and got moving.

“Everyone else, get armed, get with your men and stay alert!”

“Yes sir!” they shouted.

“Aoi.” Kai grabbed his friend’s arm. “Reita doesn’t know what the alarm means.”

The raven shook his head. “Ruki does. I’m sure he’ll get to your brother and keep him calm. I need you here.”

The brunette bit his lip and shook his head.

~          Kenta watched as his mother wiped the sweat off his cousin’s forehead. “Mommy. When is he going to wake up?”

“Soon sweetie. He just has a slight fever is all.”

“I’m bored. Can I go see Reita?”

His mother sighed. “Okay, but don’t stay if you’re a bother.”

“I won’t be.” The young boy giggled, then kissed his mother’s cheek and ran out. He made it down the street when he heard the sirens going off and looked around to find people running into some buildings. He started running down the road, but the sound of a car caught his attention and he turned to see it stopping beside him. A tall older man stepped out.

“Get inside now.”

“I have to get to my friend. He’s just a few houses down. He’s by himself.”

“Hurry up then.” He said getting back in. Kenta watched as the car drove down a different road then he continued running down the road.

~          Ruki was washing a plate when he heard the siren. He dropped the plate and dried his hands but before he could walk out, he spotted movement out his window. He walked over to the dining room  and looked out at the woods a few yards away. Suddenly, a monstrous head popped in front of the window, startling the chestnut. The creature’s eyes were blue and small compared to his big bald head. His teeth were mostly gone, but the few that were there were sharp like fangs. After the second of taking that all in, Ruki dashed away just as the creature rammed through the wall. He ran to the bookshelf to grab the gun on it, but when he turned, he quickly dodged the punch it threw. It destroyed the bookshelf, hiding the gun under a pile of wood, so Ruki quickly jumped to his feet and started towards the kitchen. He looked back and dropped to the floor, barely dodging the coffee table the creature threw. As he stood up the creature swung its arm into the short man, knocking him into the wall. Ruki cried out in pain as he made contact and fell to the floor. It walked closer to find the chestnut whimpering motionless on the floor.

~          Reita continued playing with the petals of his new yellow roses on the table. The sound of the siren caught his attention, but he stared at the door, thinking of what it could be. After a few minutes, he finally stood up and slowly started towards the window. Before he could make it there, he heard a small scream. He looked out the window to see Kenta running and then suddenly, a large creature grabbed him by the neck. The blonde’s irises shrunk as he quickly swung the door open and ran out. Before the man could squeeze the young boy, Reita punched it right in the face, knocking him back. He dropped Kenta, but the blonde caught him, and gently placed him on the ground. The creature stood up and swung his fist, but Reita caught it’s arm and pulled him down. He let go and swung his leg, round-housing him in the head, knocking him back several feet. Kenta looked up to find his friend looking down at his with bloodshot eyes.

“Kenta. Get to safety.” Reita seemed completely different, but the young boy shook his head and ran away. The blonde turned back and glared back at the creature. “I’m going to kill you.”

~          Kenta’s mother cried out as she heard the sirens and looked out the window, but she couldn’t see her son. She rushed out of the room and through the panicky hallway. She had to find her son, but then everyone fell silence as a large creature broke through the doors. Everybody screamed and started running as it lunged forward. Only Kenta’s mother stayed still out of fear and the creature easily threw her into the wall, crushing her bones. The loud screaming and commotion disturbed a young man’s sleep. The blonde opened his eyes and sat up, gripping his sore, bandaged stomach. He slipped out of bed and pulled the needles out of his arm, then the oxygen mask off his face. He made it to his door to find everyone running down the hall as the mutant threw people out of its way.

“What the fuck is that?” Hiroto muttered to himself. Rushing back in his room, he looked through his clothes in hope of finding his gun. Then a low growl caught his attention. He turned to find it staring at him through the door, but it turned and started it’s rampage again. The blonde let out his breath, looking around for anything he could use as a weapon.

~          Aoi and Kai rushed down to the armory in the Civil building with the other’s others close behind. The brunette easily broke through the metal door, gaining access to the weapons. Everyone grabbed a gun and extra bullets. They ran out of the building and down the stairs, but was greeted with one of the creatures. A few took aim and started shooting, but it was as if the bullet didn’t go deep at all and it only dripped blood. They stared in awe, but Kai dropped his guns, then his irises got smaller as he dashed towards the creature and it ran towards him. He slid under its legs, then jumped onto its back and started beating it’s head with his fist. The mutant spun around in circles until he grabbed Kai’s shoulder and threw him off. The brunette slid on his feet as he landed, then got into fighting stance as it charged again. Aoi looked at the other’s who aimed their weapons.

“All of you, get out of here.” Aoi shouted. “We’ll take care of this thing. Go meet up with your men and protect the citizens. Go!”

They didn’t hesitate running off and Aoi looked at his friend who looked at him and shook his head. The raven turned and ran back inside, hoping to find anything to help his friend. This was going to be a tough fight.


	10. Chapter 10

                Shou looked out the hospital door as they heard the sirens and found their guards glaring at him with their guns drawn. He walked back in and laid with his lover, who gently hugged him.

“I wonder what’s going on?” the prince asked. The slave clenched Kouyou’s shirt and buried his face into the chest, praying it wouldn’t be the Pride, coming to retrieve them. The ashy blonde looked out the window to find nothing alarming, just people running quickly to get inside. He watched carefully and saw someone, or something run pass a building. He got off the bed to get a better look, but found that it had disappeared. He felt a pair of arms wrap around his shoulders and he looked up to find the prince smiling down at him. They moved to kiss each other, but then, a loud noise of glass shattering and people yelling caught their attentions. They looked at the door to find their guards had ran off towards the panic. The honey blonde walked to look out the door, but found the hallway empty. The sounds of screams and stuff being thrown echoed through the hall.

“It’s getting louder.” Shou muttered. “We should move.”

Kouyou looked down and bobbed his head before taking his lover’s hand. He lead the way out and down the end to look which way to go. They looked at each other, but then the prince started walking left, leading the way towards the chaos. They made it down the hall to find someone being thrown into the wall. They looked from where he came from to find the hallway and waiting room a disaster, with people laying about and a large inhuman man standing in the middle. He picked up a woman before throwing her into the wall as well. It looked over and stared at the prince for a moment.

“We need to move.” The ashy blonde whimpered, pulling the other’s arm. “Kouyou!”

The creature let out low hum before taking a step in their direction. The honey blonde flinched, but was too terrified to move, so Shou started pulling him away. When the creature started running, that’s when the prince got his movement back and he grabbed his lover’s hand as they made a dash back down the hall. Instead of going right from where they came, they went straight to the end and around to the left. Shou looked back to see the creature far behind them and looked ahead, knowing that they needed to keep going. That is, until they made circle back to the waiting room. They saw people helping each other up and groaning, some crying. Their guards were helping each other up, one’s arm was crooked and his head bleeding. As the survivors were quickly making their way out, a man with bandages around his stomach and blonde hair came walking in with an oxygen tank. Shou looked back and whimpered.

“It’s coming back!”

People started crying and trying to rush out of the room. The blonde man ran quickly to a room and grabbed a bed, then brought it out only to flip it over to make shield. The guards made their way over to it and drew their weapons again. “Everyone get out! We’ll hold it off!”

Shou grabbed the prince’s hand and started dragging him to where the other people were heading, but a faint cry caught the honey blonde’s attention. He let go of his lover’s hand and turned to find a young girl under a stretcher with her foot caught in it. He ran over, leaving Shou puzzled, but before he could move, one of the guards had grabbed him and pulled him back

“Get out of here!”

“I can’t! Kouyou!” the slave shouted, running pass the guard and to the prince, who was now kneeling at the stretcher.

“I’m going to get you out. Just hang on.” He said calmly and she shook her head, trying to hold back her tears. He grabbed her foot and carefully pushed it out from between the metal bars. He raised the stretcher up and pulled her out as his slave made it to him.

“We have to go!”

Kouyou looked over to find the creature a few feet, walking towards them.

“Get out of there!” The blonde shouted, signaling the guards to open fire on the mutant, but it ignored them. The prince pushed the young girl into Shou’s arms.

“I’ll distract him, you run!”

“No—” Shou begged, but was pushed by his lover before the honey blonde started running and the creature quickly went after him. The ashy blonde ran towards the others, but before he could get there, a yelp caught his attention. He turned to find his lover’s neck in the hands of the monster.

“Kouyou!” He cried.

“What do we do Hiroto?” One of the men asked.

The blonde stood up and set the tank on the side of the bed. “On my signal, aim for it and break the nozzle off.”

They shook their heads as he moved around the bed and pulled the ashy blonde behind it with the other two men. He grabbed a rod that medical bags hang from and started running towards the creature. He yelled as he swung the rod into the creatures head, knocking it to the side and it dropped the prince. Kouyou hit the ground hard and started coughing as he grabbed his throat. It turned and glared down at the blonde before taking a swing at him, but Hiroto quickly dodged it swung the rod again, hitting its neck. It grabbed the rod and pulled it right out of the other’s hand, making him fall forward. It threw the rod down, but Hiroto rolled to dodge it and quickly jumped to his feet only to meet the creatures fist as it made contact to his chest. He landed on his back and curled into a ball from the pain. He looked up to find it ready to pierce him with the rod, but before it could, Kouyou had started hitting him in the head with another rod. It turned, swung his arm and punched the prince in the stomach, knocking the air out of his lungs. It back handed Kouyou’s face, making him fall to the floor again. Hiroto forced himself to his feet and grabbed a sheet. Before the creature could move, the blonde swung it around its right leg and pulled it as he kicked the other leg, making him loose his balance and fall. Hiroto quickly ran over and grabbed the prince’s arm to slide him away as the mutant stood back up.

“Now!” Hiroto shouted, getting on top of the prince. Before the guards could raise up, Shou had already grabbed one of their guns and was hitting the nozzle. A loud gush of wind blew as the tank went off and the nauseating sound of blood gushing filled the room as the red liquid splattered all over the prince and Hiroto. The blonde looked up to find the creature standing there with a large hole in its chest. It didn’t make a sound as it fell backwards onto the floor. He looked down to find the honey blonde grunting and before he could say anything, he was already pushed off.

“Kou? Kouyou, are you ok?” Shou cried as he lifted his lover. Hiroto stood up, but grabbed his side in pain. He looked down to find blood leaking out of his bandages.

“Sir!” One of the guards shouted as he approached the fallen man.

“I’m ok, but I get the feeling that this isn’t the only one.” The blonde sighed and looked at the other. “Make sure everyone is safe. Get him medical attention.”

“Kouyou, please wake up!” The ashy blonde cried, holding his lover. _“Please!”_

                Ruki gasped for air as waves of pain shot through his body. He looked up to find the man turning and walking away, but the chestnut slowly got up to his feet. The mutant turned and saw the young man walking towards the kitchen, so he turned to finish him off. Ruki saw him step closer and made a dash into the kitchen, where he slid to the fridge and opened it as the thing made its way in. Ruki grabbed the nine millimeter out of the side door and took aim before firing all nine shots into its chest. The chestnut watched with wide eyes as it took another step with all those bullet holes inside it. It threw it’s fist, but Ruki ducked and ran around him to the other side of the counter. He grabbed a knife before running out to the living room, leading it the open area. He turned around to find it running towards him. He waited until the last second before darting down and stabbing it in the thigh. He scooted between its legs and made a run down the hall to his bedroom to look for more bullets. He pulled out a drawer from his dresser and grabbed another clip. He turned to find the creature’s hand flying towards him. He tried to duck, but it’s hand barely struck him and knocked him down. He cried out, but started crawling away, only to get pulled up abruptly by the hair. The chestnut screamed and kicked his legs as he grabbed the creature’s arm. He gasped as he started shooting behind him, aiming blindly at it until it cried out and dropped him. There was a thunk and blood started flowing down his face as he made contact with the ground. He turned to see it grabbing it’s bloody right eye, crying and flailing around. It started punching the dresser, so Ruki took this chance to get away. He climbed over his bed to fall off the other side and look under the bed. He grabbed the hunter’s knife that Kai kept around and clipped it to his pants before sitting up. He opened his lover’s night stand and pulled out another clip and loaded the gun. He took a deep breath and jumped to his feet, but found himself alone. He cautiously walked to the door and out it, but it was nowhere to be seen. A shiver went down his spine and then he was suddenly lifted into the air. He screamed as he was thrown into the wall, causing the cut on his head to open up more. He bounced off, hitting the ground hard before he looked up to find the bathroom door open. He knew that’s where it had hid. He looked up to see it walking over and he knew this time, it was coming for the last time to finish him. Ruki jumped to his feet and ran to the bathroom where he grabbed the lid to the toilet. He was violently picked up by his shirt, but he twisted his body and smashed the porcelain top on its head. He landed like a cat, but the creature pinned him down. It flipped the chestnut over and grabbed his neck, strangling him. Ruki whimpered as he kicked his feet around and searched for the knife. Finally, he found the handle and pulled it out. He screamed with the last of his breath as he stabbed it in the neck ,but it didn’t budge. Just as his vision was getting blurry, he swung his arm one more time and struck its temple. The creature let go as he fell to his side. Ruki coughed as he gasped for air and rolled over to find the mutant motionless. He sat up and slid up against the wall as he stared at it, finally realizing that he had indeed killed it.

                Reita stared directly into his opponent’s blue eyes as they continued their standoff. It made a low hum, almost a growl as it took a step forward. The blonde’s breathe sharpened as he made a dash straight to it, then ran to the side to distract it and jump up to kick him in the head. Just as he did, it grabbed his leg and threw him in the air, but Reita landed lightly on his feet. He ran quickly towards it as it charged, but he slipped to the side and around where he jumped onto it’s back. He wrapped one arm around its neck and started pounding his fist into its head. The mutant moved around, flailing as he tried to get Reita off him. Finally, it grabbed the blonde by the hair and pulled him off. It threw him onto the ground and kicked him, sending him flying a few feet in the air. He slid across the ground as he landed, ripping his shirt up. He jumped back to his feet and looked around for anything he could use for a weapon, but he didn’t have much time before it was charging him again. He jumped to the side to avoid a punch, then another and then a kick. He swiftly moved side to side and with one motion, he caught one it’s legs, pulled it, and slammed his palm into it. It proved ineffective as the creature fell and pulled it’s leg away, only to kick the blonde in the stomach, sending him backwards. Reita regained his balance and remained calm, as if no damage was done. He started running towards it and jumped into the air to the land his feet into its chest. He dropped to his knees and started punching its face over and over, but was thrown off just as quick. He landed hard on his back and rolled down a few feet and stopped on his stomach. Reita turned over and found the mutant lifting up an abandoned truck. His eyes got wide and he rushed to his feet as it threw it straight at him, but the blonde was too quick and was able to dodge it as it was destroyed on impact. Pieces flew everywhere, the glass shattered, and metal was bended.  Reita studied the pile for a moment, but the creature started charging him again, so he had to take defense. He dodged swing after swing until the blonde noticed Kenta watching from behind a bush and it finally landed a solid punch on his face, knocking him down. It got on top of him and started punching him.

“ _Stop it!”_ Kenta screamed, throwing a rock at the creature. It stopped and turned to look at the young boy. It raised up only to start towards him and lift its arm to strike. Kenta shook in fear, but his legs wouldn’t move. He squeezed his eyes shut and lifted his arms for protection as the mutant lunged his arm forward. He waited for the impact, but it never came, only a grunt. He looked up to find that Reita had caught it’s arm and was pulling it forward again, like the first time to kick it. It caught the blonde’s leg just as he was an inch away and threw him into the pavement. It got over the blonde again to strike.

“Run Kenta! Run!”

The young boy turned and took off again, this time running with all his might to find someone to help. Reita waited until his friend disappeared before breaking away from its grasp. He ran to the destroyed car and grabbed a large piece of sharp, broken glass from the windshield. He turned and ran towards it with such great speed, that it couldn’t even take a step before Reita was in the air, jumping on to it. He landed on its shoulders and looked it straight in the eyes. He raised the glass in the air and slammed it down into the top of its head with such great force, that it didn’t even break. He jumped off as it was falling backwards and landed right after it did. He looked at it one more time before turning and running in the same direction Kenta took off in. It wasn’t long before he found his young friend talking to someone and soon, he realized that it was Ruki. The chestnut looked up and sighed in relief.

“Rei, you’re ok.”

The blonde shook his head as he studied his friend. Blood covered the right side of Ruki’s face, he was bruised, leaning over a bit and holding a gun and upper right arm in his left hand. “You’re hurt.”

The chestnut looked down at his arm, but smiled. “I’ll be fine, but I need to get to Kai. I need to know he’s ok.”

Reita shook his head and turned to the lead the way, but he heard some grunting. He looked back to see Ruki’s face in pain, so he walked back and kneeled in front of his friend to give him a piggy back ride. The chestnut looked down, but he knew he didn’t have the strength to walk, so he got onto the blonde’s back. Kenta grabbed Reita’s pants as he raised up and then they started making their way down the road.

                  Kai yelled as he slammed his fist into the creature’s face and kicked it’s chest to jump back. He landed on his feet before running around to the side to attack his opponent once more. He hadn’t let up or given it the chance to strike back. He kicked and punched it in its face, chest, stomach and back until it swung its fist into the brunette’s stomach, knocking him back. Kai dug his fingers into the ground as he skidded to a stop.  He raised up as it started charging towards him, but he didn’t back down. He ran towards it, then jumped and turned his body to kick it right in the face. After the landing, it grabbed Kai’s ankle, swinging him into the air, then throwing him into the ground, earning a yelp. It raised up to land a punch,  but the brunette quickly rolled to dodge it and got back to his feet. Before he could make a move though, the bald creature grabbed his neck and lifted him into the air. Kai kicked his legs as hard as he could, but it just punched him in the stomach, stunning him. He took another punch to the stomach, but swung his leg up and back down, doing a straight kick to its inner elbow. Its arm gave out and dropped the lieutenant, allowing him to land on his feet. He jumped back a few times and lifted his fists as he tried to catch his breath. He looked up at the building hoping that Aoi would appear to help, but he had to get his head back in the game when the creature charged at him. All the while, the raven was in the weapons room digging through it, trying to find something, anything to help his friend. He grabbed a pistol and stuck it in the back of his pants, then straightened up to leave, but a box caught his attention. He squatted at the box against the wall and opened it to find ten grenades placed in carefully in it. He grabbed one of them and stuck it in his pocket before running out of the room. He gasped for air as he made a mad dash to the entrance where his friend was fighting for his life. He flew out the doors to find Kai dodging the monster’s punches and strikes. He didn’t take two steps before it grabbed the captains head and threw him across the pavement.

“Kai!” Aoi yelled, catching it’s attention. The raven pulled out the pistol and took aim at the creature as it started charging at him. He fired twice into its chest, but that didn’t stop it and Aoi jumped to the side to dodge the punch it threw. The lieutenant’s foot slipped in the steps, causing him to roll down the stairs. He looked up to see it already in front of him, throwing a punch down onto him, but before he could blink, Kai had moved in its path and crossed his arms, blocking the attack. The brunette yanked his arms back and darted to the side to kick it. It took the hit, but swung his arm to strike at the captain’s opening. Kai yelped as he was pushed back. Aoi jumped to his feet and aimed the pistol again and shot the creature. It turned, swinging its arm into the raven’s stomach, sending him flying back.

“Aoi!” Kai yelled as he saw his friend land hard on the ground. He ran to the lieutenant as fast as he could and slid on his knees beside him. He turned his friend over to find his head bleeding, but alive and conscious. “Are you ok?”

“Fine.” He grunted. He dug in his pocket and pulled out the small weapon. “Use your imagination, but quickly, he’s coming.”

Kai turned to see it walking, ready to charge at them. He looked back at his friend to find more blood coming out of his left thigh. “You’re hurt.”

“Deal with me later. Kill it.”

The captain bit his lip, but stood up and faced it. It’s pace was getting faster, so Kai started to run towards it and when he got close enough, he jumped into the air. He twisted around, avoiding a close punch and kicked it in its head. He swung his body to land on its back, where he pulled the pin out of the grenade and grabbed its forehead to yank it back. It yelled out just enough for Kai to shove the small bomb in its mouth, then swung around and kicked its jaw to push himself back. The brunette twisted as he landed and made a dash to his friend. He slid on his knees and covered Aoi just as the grenade went off. They raise up as they heard a thud in a distance. They looked back to find the bottom half of their opponent laying there. Kai helped the raven up to his feet, then supported him as they started walking.

“We need to get to the hospital.” Kai said. Aoi bobbed his head as he limped with his friend’s help.

                As they made their way up the road towards their destination, they saw people running around the hospital.

“Oh no.” Kai sighed. He walked as fast as the raven could limp and they rush to them. They slowed to a stop as they saw people moving bodies out and covering them with white sheets. They saw a dear friend standing over a sheet, holding his bloody side and tears flowing down his cheeks.

“Hiroto.” Aoi broke away and limped to his friend. The blond looked up with devastated eyes, then back down.

“How?” He whimpered. “How do I tell Kenta…that his mother is dead? That our only family is gone? That we’re all that’s left?”

The raven patted his back. “I’m sorry.”

“Will Kenta be able to understand? Will he understand that she can’t take care of him anymore?”

“It’ll be okay. He’s strong.”

The blonde nodded as Kai patted his back. The brunette looked up to see his brother walking with the young boy and someone on his back. “Reita.”

The other two looked up. “Kenta.” Hiroto whimpered. The three of them rushed to the blonde to find his pupils had shrunk and veins popping  out around his eyes.  The one on his back raised his head and smiled at them as he forced Reita to sit him down.

“Ruki!” Kai shouted, pulling his lover into a hug. “Oh god, you’re hurt.”

“I’m fine.” The chestnut smiled as blood ran down his cheek.

“Hiroto!” Kenta shouted, running into his cousin’s arms. The blonde hugged the younger and started whimpering. “Why are you crying Hiroto? I’m ok. So please, don’t cry.”

Reita took a step as his eyes grew back to normal and then he fell forward. Aoi quickly caught him and held him up.

“So…sleepy.” He whispered.

“He changed.” Ruki spoke up. “Just like you.”

“It’s probably his first time.” Kai said. “Let’s find somewhere to rest and get stitched up.”

Hiroto spoke up. “People in critical are on the second floor, everyone else is above.”

“Can you walk?” The brunette asked his lover, who shook his head yes. “Good, I need to carry Reita then.”

Ruki backed up a bit, then helped the raven place Reita on Kai’s back. The lieutenant straightened up, making sure he had a good grip on his brother before he took a step. Ruki helped Aoi limp behind them as Hiroto took his cousin to say goodbye to the one they lost.

                The group patiently waited in the elevator after being told they had to go to the top floor.

“Can they handle the rest?” the chestnut asked.

“Our troops are no push overs. They can handle it.” His lover stated.

“Sweepy…” Reita mumbled.

“I know. We’ll have a place for you to rest in a minute ok?”

“Kenta?”

“He’s safe, don’t worry.”

“No…hurt?”

Kai looked at the other two trying to figure out what his brother was saying. “Uh, he’s not hurt.”

“Hurt…”

“Are you hurt?” The raven asked.

“A lot.”

“Muscle pains.” Kai said. “I had them to when it first happened to me. He just needs some rest and he’ll be fine.”

“Kai…”

“Yes?”

“Don’t...leave...”

“I’m not going to leave.”

“I’m…scared…” He sound like a little kid. “When…where we at? Why I sleepy? Why… why…I’m scared…”

“Don’t worry, we’ll find a place for you to rest. After that, I’ll explain ever thing to you.”

“Aoi?”

“I’m here.” The raven said as the doors open. They started walking out.

“Don’t leave...me alone.”

Aoi and Kai looked at each other, then the raven looked at the blonde’s glossy eyes. It hurt them to see him scared. The raven moved his hand and rubbed the blonde’s soft hair.

“I won’t. I’ll stay beside you.”

Reita’s weakened eyelids finally gave in and fell shut, bringing darkness to the younger’s world, allowing him to find some rest.


	11. Chapter 11

            The birds chirped as the sun grew higher in the sky and the world lightened up from its slumber. It was quiet in the room on the top floor of the hospital, with the occasional footsteps outside the door, but the blonde laying on the bed remained in a deep sleep. Even the hand gently grazing his cheek couldn’t pull him out of his dream. The raven smiled as he caressed the blonde’s head, who was laying on Aoi’s uninjured thigh. He looked out the window again, but turned when he heard the door open and he smiled as his friend walked in. Kai gave a small smile as he grazed the back of his fingers on his brother’s forehead.

“He should be awake later today.” The lieutenant said as he looked up at Aoi. “I got the report from Byou before he laid down.”

“How’s Ruki?” The captain asked.

Kai sighed. “He’ll be ok. His head was split open and his shoulder was dislocated. He has some pretty bad bruises on top of what he already had. He’ll need help these next few days. They’re working on our home today, so we can stay there when we get out.”

“I’m glad he’s ok.”

“Me too. Now, I need to tell you Byou’s report. We had thirty-three casualties. Mostly from the hospital. We took one down, Hiroto took care of one, Reita and Ruki both killed one. Our troops managed to kill the last one, so that makes five. Their bodies are in the morgue so we can find out what they are. The prince however, was injured. The doctors said that there was no brain damage or trauma, but he was knocked unconscious. Something caught Hiroto’s attention. Apparently, when that…thing spotted Kouyou, it didn’t take its eyes off him. He attacked to kill the prince and almost did. That’s all Byou’s gotten so far. I told him to get some rest since he was up all last night keeping things in order. Something else, the elders wish to speak with us when we’re fully recovered.”

Aoi shook his head and looked down at his bandaged thigh. “They said that a piece of glass was embedded in me when I landed on the ground. It sliced open my muscle so I have walk on crutches for a few days until it heals. I guess that means Reita has to take care of me.”

The brunette giggled. “I prayed with all my might that he wouldn’t have what I do. Then again, we took the same treatments together when we were children. You know, the first time I changed, I felt so powerful. I felt as if I could kill anybody that got in my way. I could kill everybody who hurt my brother, who killed my family, who destroyed my entire life and everyone else’s. Then reality sat in and I was too exhausted to move, I fainted. When I woke up, I was covered in blood and dead bodies laid around me. I was so scared and so sad that I was a monster.”

“That was the day we found you, wasn’t it?” The raven asked, knowing the answer.

“Yeah. We were both teenagers then huh?”

Aoi shook his head as the room filled with silence. He could tell Kai was upset, even though he was smiling. The lieutenant leaned forward and kissed his brother’s forehead. “Does it hurt? To change I mean.”

“Before I got control, it hurt because I couldn’t remember what I’ve done. Now, it just hurts knowing that he was a lab rat too. Aoi, please take care of him. Don’t ever hurt him. I know you like him, that you have a crush on him, but unless you’re sure of yourself and he’s showing the same affection, don’t engage him.”

The raven blushed a bit, but held a serious face. “I’ve never felt this way before. The need to truly protect someone. I’m not sure what this feeling is and I’m confused. When I see his face, my heart flutters, when I see him sad, I just want to hug him. Kai, it hasn’t been long, but I already feel this way. I don’t know what to do.”

“Just don’t hurt him. Be careful of your actions.” Kai glared straight into his friend’s eyes. “If you do hurt him. I will not hold back killing you. I will not allow my brother to be tortured or hurt anymore. Is that clear?”

Aoi swallowed hard. Even if he was ahead of the brunette, he was secretly scared of his friend. “I will not hurt him and if I do, I won’t fight you back.”

“Good.” Kai petted his brother’s head again before making his way to the door. “Follow your heart, not the head in your pants. I’m trusting him with you.”

The raven watched his friend walk out, then he went back to caressing the blonde’s head.

            Kai walked down to the next room and opened the door to find his lover laying peacefully in the bed. This was the third time he was in the hospital since they’ve returned. The brunette allowed a tear to fall as he watched the chestnut’s chest move as he breathed. He slowly walked in and grazed his fingers on one of Ruki’s cheeks. The younger made a light noise before moving his head and opening his eyes. He smiled when he saw his lover looking down at him.

“Hey.” Ruki mumbled.

“Morning. How are you feeling?”

The chestnut kept his smile. “The morphine is keeping the pain away. I’ll be ok, so don’t worry.” He said, wiping the single tear in Kai’s cheek.

The brunette grabbed the hand and rubbed his face against the palm. “I can’t take seeing you hurt every other day.”

Ruki pulled away and looked away with hurtful eyes. “Kai I—”

He was cut off when his lover kissed him. He closed his eyes and kissed back. Kai climbed over him before pulling away and laying beside him. “I love you so much. When this war is over, I promise, you’ll never get hurt again. I promise to take care of you, shower you with love and passion. You’ll always be protected, you’ll always be safe, you’ll always be in my arms.”

The chestnut rubbed Kai’s head as the brunette rubbed it in the younger’s neck. Ruki’s eyes were full of tears that he wouldn’t allow to spill over. For those were not tears of happiness, but ones of guilt.

            Speaking of teary eyes, Shou was pouring the salty streams silently beside his lover’s bed. The ashy blonde squeezed the prince’s hand, begging for him to wake up, for him to be ok. The moment Kouyou was struck upside the head, Shou’s heart stopped and his emotions were erratic. The doctors almost forced him away from the prince, but luckily, Kai allowed him to stay. Now he was praying and begging with all his might. The doctor said that he was ok, but they wouldn’t be sure until after he wakes up. The ashy blonde sniffled as he sat on the edge of the bed and caressed his master’s cheek.

“You have such a good heart. You saved that girl even though you were endangered. You distracted it so I could get away. Why Kouyou? Why are you always protecting me? Even the day we met, all you’ve ever done was take care of me, yet I’ve never returned the favor. All I could do was stand in your shadow and watch you suffer in that damn palace. I wish…I wish for once I could do something for you. I wish I could save you, just like you saved me.”

_Several years back, there was an ambush on an outer village of the Kingdom. No one knows who did it. The Rebellions denied it and even proved that it wasn’t them, The Pride, however, continued to blame them. The young prince, who was a teenager at the time, decided to take a look at the destruction, so he went, though escorted by soldiers to the village. As they arrived, Kouyou felt his heart break. The homes that were there were completely destroyed, some burnt and others still burning or smoky. He walked through and covered his face with his arm when he started seeing the bodies covered in flies._

_“Why haven’t they been buried yet?”_

_“The cleanup crew hasn’t gotten to it.” The general that accompanied him said bluntly. The young prince continued walking forward, studying the sad scene around him. He wondered how people could be so cruel when he saw a mother holding two of her children with bullet holes all in them. He had swallow hard so he wouldn’t puke. Just when he had enough, something caught his and the soldiers attentions. A sound that made them all jump and turn to the direction it came from. They raised their weapons as they fell silent and frozen._

_“Put down your weapons.” The prince ordered when he saw feet appear from behind a house. A teenager was holding his arm, his clothes ripped to shreds, but could barely be noticed because of all the blood that covered him. He was wobbly as he stepped forward and his breathing loud. His light brown hair was drooped down around his face, his eyes looked cold and dead, his thin frame shook, and he looked scared out of his mind._

_“Who are you?” the general asked, raising his weapon. “What happened here?”_

_The boy stopped, finally acknowledging the people in front of him, but then he started walking closer to the prince._

_“Halt!” The general shouted, but he kept going. “I said stop or we will shoot!”_

_“General!” Kouyou shouted. “You will not.”_

_The elder man got in front the prince. “I’m here to protect you. He may be a rebel.”_

_“Or he’s a villager.”_

_“I can’t take that chance.” He turned to face the boy who had come closer. “Stop or we will open fire.”_

_The teen continued walking closer, so the general raised his gun and cocked it. “No!” Kouyou screamed, jumping on the general’s arm, making the gun go off. The honey blonde looked up to find that the young teen had stopped walking. The prince rushed to him and grabbed his shoulders checking his shaky body._

_“You’re ok.” Kouyou sighed, but looked at the boy’s terrified face and found him trying breath. “Calm down. You’re having a panic attack, you need to calm down and breath ok.”_

_He looked straight into the prince’s eyes before shutting his and his limping body caught the honey blonde off balance. Kouyou yelped as he fell to the ground with the teen in his arms, who had passed out from the shock. He rubbed the stranger’s cheek and glared up at the general._

_“I’ll have a few stay to search for more survivors while we take him to get medical attention.”_

_Kouyou looked back down at the man and smiled. “You’re safe now.”_

_Arriving in the palace, the prince was immediately separated from the survivor and taken to his room. He undressed down to his shorts and climbed on his bed where he started to cry. The images would forever be buried in his mind and he wished he had never gone. The only reason he did was because he had a feeling that he should go, but for what? To see the sight of a massacre? He cried out more, which didn’t go unnoticed. He felt a hand grip his shoulder. He turned to find his father there sitting on the bed._

_“What’s gotten you so upset?”_

_“Th-those people. They…they didn’t have to die. Those children were…innocent! Father, who would kill a child?” the prince cried out. The Emperor pulled his son into a hug._

_“These things happen. To be an Emperor, you must control your emotions. You did well holding them until you got back.”_

_“But it hurts.” The prince whimpered. “Why would they kill them? What did they do?”_

_“Your heart is just like your mother’s.” the emperor giggled. He pulled away to kiss his son’s forehead then down to his lips. The prince whimpered when his father slipped his tongue in the honey blonde’s mouth. Kouyou clenched his father’s shirt as they kissed roughly and as the Emperor’s hand started caressing his son. He pushed the honey blonde down and climbed over him before pulling off._

_“I’ll distract you from that pain.”_

_Kouyou barely caught his breath before his father started kissing him again while rubbing his hands down his son sides. He slid his hand in the boxers and gripped the member inside it, making the prince moan out. His father moved away to kiss down his neck and massage him more eagerly. Kouyou turned his head and found his younger half brother staring through the door, but the prince was too aroused to even think about it. He turned his head back and gripped his father’s hair as the Emperor started sucking on his nipple. He felt his father grinding his already hard member against him. The Emperor sat up, pulling his arms away only to pull the shorts off his son and stroke him again. He smiled as the prince withered beneath him and he went down to suck on the member, making his son gasp out. Kouyou shuddered as his father started sucking him. He’s always felt uncomfortable when his father did these things to him, but he was raised this way. It was how they were supposed to act, at least, that’s what he was taught. Now though, he wonders why it’s only him. Why not Saga? Why doesn’t his father do this to his brother? Why only him? His thoughts were torn away from him when he felt himself get penetrated. He shot his eyes open, which he didn’t even notice he closed, and looked up at his father, who started rocking his hips. Kouyou didn’t even notice the Emperor had stopped sucking him, but he paid that no mind when his father sat a vigorous pace, making him clench the bed sheets. He looked over at the door to find his brother blushing while stroking his own harden member. He licked his lips and smiled at the honey blonde, which made the older prince feel disgusted. He looked up at his father and knew that this was wrong._

_“Stop!” He cried._

_“What is it Kouyou?” His father asked, still thrusting._

_“I don’t want this anymore! Please stop it father! It’s wrong!”_

_“Oh, but your body is begging for it.” The Emperor smiled. “you’ve always enjoyed this and it’s ok for us to do it. You were raised with this.”_

_“No father!” The prince screamed and started fighting his father. “I know it’s wrong! Stop it! It’s—”_

_The Emperor slapped him before he could finish and got rougher with his pace. “You do not yell at me! It’s what you’re supposed to do! You’re supposed to please me!”_

_Kouyou cried as he fought with what little strength he had, but it was useless. He just clenched the sheets and prayed for the end to come quickly and painlessly. Prayed with every thrust, every breath, moan, and grunt. He prayed with all his might until he finally felt his insides fill with a warm liquid. His father pulled out, allowing him to curl up into a ball and sob on the bed. He looked out to find his brother gone, but for that he was thankful. He gasped for air between tears and he flinched when his father touched him._

_“You’re my son. Remember that.”_

_“Then why would you do this?” Kouyou whimpered silently._

_His father smiled. “It’s normal.”_

_“It’s disgusting.” The honey blonde popped up. “You never do any of this to Saga! I’ve rarely seen you do it with the Empress. You spend more time having more sex with me than with your own wife! You’re a disgusting, filthy piece of trash!”_

_A powerful slap knocked the prince on his back and he found his neck in the grasp of his father. “How dare you address me in such a way. I’m your Emperor, you are to show me respect! Is that clear?”_

_Kouyou gagged, kicking his legs trying to breath, but it wasn’t until his face was turning blue that his father let go. “Yes…father.” He gasped._

_The Emperor slapped his son as hard as before. “Now you call me father? Not anymore. Until I feel that you respect me again, you’re not allow to call me ‘father’. It’s ‘lord’, ‘majesty’, or ‘Emperor’ to you. Do you understand?”_

_“Yes…my lord.”_

_“Good.” The Emperor got off the bed and stomped out of the room. Kouyou curled into a ball gasping, shaking, and silently crying his heart out._

_The morning came quickly and the prince found himself still naked on the bed. He figured he had cried himself to sleep last night. He got of the bed and walked into his bathroom where he started the shower. He looked at the mirror and saw the left side of his face bruised, swollen, and accompanied by a black eye. He shook as he slipped into the warm water. He let his muscles relax as he washed his body. Though doing so, he still felt incredibly dirty. He hugged himself tightly and bit his lip as he started crying again. He sniffled remembering that his tears brought on what happened last night. He quickly wiped them away before finishing his shower and stepping out. He walked into his bedroom and picked his outfit for that day, then quickly changed and left his room. Walking down to the dining room, his body fills with shudders, but he continued on and controlled his limping so no one could see. Arriving to his destination, he found his father, step mother, and step brother sitting down, eating. He took his place across from his step mother and beside his father. The Empress raised a brow._

_“Had a disagreement with your father?” Kouyou looked up at her, then back down at the empty spot in front of him. The silence confirmed her thoughts. “It’s about time your father put you in your place.”_

_“Why don’t you learn yours?” Kouyou snapped back, earning a slap from the Emperor._

_“You dare speak to the Empress, your mother, that way?”_

_The prince stood up with his fists balled. “My mother is dead. How dare_ you _try to replace her.”_

_The Emperor got into his son’s face. “I’ve had enough of your tongue and attitude. Apologize to her at once.”_

_“I’ve said nothing offensive! Only the truth! Or is that punishable by death too, father?”He was slapped again, and this time he fell into the chairs beside him. He grunted as he rolled over and got up. He wiped the blood of his lip as his step mother walked over to calm her husband._

_“My lord, forgive the interruption.” The general that escorted Kouyou was bowing before them. “The man we brought in hasn’t talked. He won’t speak a word not matter what we do. We placed him back in a cell until we know what to do.”_

_“You were interrogating him?” the prince gasped. “How could you? He was a victim and you’re trying to pound something out of him!”_

_“Prince, this is none of your concern.”_

_“Like hell it isn’t!” Kouyou shouted. “How can we call ourselves human if we can’t even take care of someone who was hurt and witnessed the slaughter of his friends and family?”_

_“You think you can do better? Figure out what happened and why?” the general asked._

_“Watch me.” The honey stomped out of the dining room with the general close behind._

_They made their way down to the prison chamber of the castle, where the general took the lead to show him where the survivor was. He came up to the cell to find the light brunette curled up a ball in the back right corner. Kouyou made his way in and sat carefully beside the teen. He place his hand on the other’s shoulder, making him flinch and raise his head._

_“Hey there. Do you remember me? I found you in the village before you passed out. I’m Prince Kouyou. What’s your name?” The boy looked away, but the honey blonde brought his head back. “you’re not in trouble. We just need to know what happened, so please, give us your name.”_

_“I don’t know…” He lingered._

_“It’s ok. I’ll protect you, just tell me.”_

_“I don’t know what my name is.” The teen shook his head. Looking straight into the strangers eyes, Kouyou felt like he was telling the truth. “I can’t remember. I don’t know who you are, or what this place is, where I was, who I am. I don’t know.”_

_The prince glared at the general at the cell’s door. “Did you have a doctor look at him?”_

_“No. My superior told me not to.”_

_“You’re an idiot.” Kouyou stood up with a fierce look. “He has amnesia. He won’t know shit.”_

_The general shrugged. “Oh well. Doesn’t matter anyways, he’s been enlisted as a slave.”_

_“What?” The prince shouted._

_“Not my orders. Your father’s. If you want to do something about it, talk to him, but until then, I can’t let him out.”_

_Kouyou looked down at the lost boy sitting there. “I’ll fix this, don’t worry.”_

_The prince made his way to the throne room and stomped in towards his father. Before the Emperor could speak, Kouyou beat him to it._

_“Release him.”_

_“Excuse me?”_

_“Release that man. He has amnesia, he can’t remember. Now he’s in a cell and suddenly he’s going to be a slave. That’s beyond wrong. It’s…it’s dishonorable of us to do so.”_

_“You have no voice in this matter.” The Emperor said._

_“Really, I think I do.”_

_“There is a chance he is a spy. I will not let him run freely around my palace. He will be a slave and that’s the end of it.”_

_“Then let him be my slave.” Kouyou said. “At least he can regain his sanity if I have him.”_

_“What makes you think you can help him? Besides, I was thinking about giving him to Saga. He actually wants a slave and asked for one.”_

_The prince walked up to his father and leaned on the throne, getting into the Emperor’s face. “Do that and I’ll inform the Empress of all the things you do to me because she can’t please you. I’ll tell her that you might be doing the same to her son. What will your followers think if they hear that their precious Emperor fucks his son. I don’t think people would like that too much, do you?”_

_The Emperor clenched his teeth, but then, he smiled. “I’m glad you’re becoming a cunning little shit. Fine, he’s yours, but only if you keep your lips sealed.”_

_“Of course my lord. I want him released and placed in my room immediately.” Kouyou said and started walking away._

_“Kouyou.” His father stood up. “I didn’t dismiss you. Also, just because I complimented you doesn’t mean you have any right to speak to me that way, but due to your health and my tiredness, I’ll let it pass… this time.”_

_“Sorry, please, have him placed in my room.”_

_“As you wish, now go on, I have business to attend to and so do you.”_

_The prince went on to his studies before finally going back to his room where he found the stranger looking out the window of his room. Kouyou paused for a moment to take in the details of the picture in front of him. The man was wearing slave garments, his skin cleaned up, chains on his wrists showing he belong to one of the Royal family, his hair dyed a light blonde, and his face painted with makeup. He turned and looked at the prince, then looked away._

_“I didn’t mean for this to happen.” Kouyou sat on the bed as explained. “It just did, but there’s nowhere else safer than with me. I’m the most protected here, next to my father of course. Nobody will hurt you. I’ll make sure of that. I’m sorry that this all happened.” The prince waited for a response, but didn’t receive one. “you can talk you know.”_

_“They said I can’t speak without permission.”_

_“When we’re alone, you don’t need my permission. That’s only for me though. Anybody else, they might punish you.”_

_“You said no one would hurt me.”_

_“Well…I mean…listen, you’re my first slave. I don’t know how this works, but I won’t let them hurt you. I promise.” The honey blonde stuck out his pinky and smiled. The other tilted his head, but wrapped his pinky around the other’s. “It’s a pinky promise.”_

_He pulled away and stared at his pinky, then at his master, who was smiling. “What’s my name?”_

_“Huh?”_

_“They said you would give me my name. I want to know what it is.”_

_“Hang on. They meant a name to write down for you. It’s not the name before we met, I want you to know that.”_

_The blonde looked down, almost heartbroken. “Oh.”_

_“Shou.” Kouyou smiled. “If you like it, we’ll give you that name, until you remember your real name anyways.”_

_The slave looked up and shook his head. “That’s fine. Thank you, for giving me an identity.”_

_The prince bobbed his head and then they sat in awkward silence. Both playing with their fingers for a while until Kouyou looked back up. “Sit down, your legs are probably tired.”_

_Shou sat next to his master and sighed. “So, what now? What are we supposed to do?”_

_Kouyou shrugged his shoulders and fell back onto his bed. “Don’t know. I guess we could talk.”_

_The blonde brought his legs up and leaned over his master. “Talk, about what?”_

_“Anything. Food, the wind, the ceiling, chickens.”_

_The slave giggled a bit. “This isn’t exactly said what I would be doing.”_

_“Oh, what did they say?”_

_“Stuff like, getting your clothes, following you, do whatever you say, something called sex, bringing you food and other stuff. I’m not quite sure what they talking about most the time.”_

_“Don’t listen to them.” The prince ordered. “Just listen to me and you’ll be fine.”_

_“Ok. So, what is it like, to be a prince.”_

_“So that’s what you want to talk about? My boring life.”_

_“Would you rather talk about my one day of life so far?”_

_Kouyou laughed a bit before he sighed. “Where would you liked me to start?”_

_“The beginning. Tell me about your parents, your childhood and so on.”_

_“Ok then. My father is a proud man, strong willed, stubborn, and strong. He’s strong in everything he does. He has no weaknesses.”_

_“Everybody has a weakness.”_

_“Not him, at least he doesn’t let anybody know it. My mother. They say, I’m her replica. She was beautiful beyond comprehension. She was strong willed, yet frail, but had a powerful heart. She could persuade anybody to do anything, even my father. I wish…I wish had met her.”_

_“What do you mean?”_

_“She died, of a heart and lung disease when I was still very young. Everyone says I act like her, like her spirit lives within me. My childhood could have been better if she were around. Then maybe, my father wouldn’t have done such things to me.”_

_Shou listened to every story, every detail of Kouyou’s life. They laid in bed, or Shou sat up and the prince laid his head in the slave’s lap with the blonde rubbing the other’s head. They sat outside in the gardens, by the lake, in the library, anywhere they could be alone so they could talk. Kouyou opened up about his darkest secrets to this man he just met, yet for once he felt as if he could trust someone. Trust Shou. He even cried several times in the slave’s arms and the blonde hugged him, and allowed him to release his pent up emotions. As the days turned into weeks, stories about the past turned into stories about the future and dreams. They had many conversations about many things like the sky, the clouds, food, games, and animals. Nothing depressing, which both of them didn’t mind it that much. Today, they find themselves relaxed and Kouyou felt huge a weight had lifted of his shoulders when Shou arrived and he found himself more calm. They were laying in bed, Shou rubbing his sleeping master’s head, who was laying on the slave’s chest. It was nice, quiet and just peaceful, that is until the Emperor walked in. The slave looked at him only to get glared at._

_“On your knees slave!”The shout made the prince jump. He looked up to find his slave staring in shock at the Emperor, but that changed. His father grabbed his slave’s hair and pulled him off the bed, making him scream. “You are to show respect!”_

_“My lord, stop!” Kouyou shouted as his father started beating Shou._

_“Stay there Kouyou. Since you didn’t teach him, I will. Interfere and I’ll take him away from you!”_

_The honey blonde stopped, but continued to watch as his father beat his slave. He listened to Shou’s cries and he lost it. He grabbed his father’s arm and pushed him back onto the floor. He got on his knees and pulled Shou into a hug as the slave cried. “Don’t you dare hurt him. He is not some creature that you can torture. He’s a person with feelings. I don’t care what you do to me, but I will not allow you to harm him again. Is that clear?”_

_The Emperor stared in shock at his son, but he got up and slapped the prince. He stepped back when Kouyou glared up at him. Those eyes pierced his father’s shield. “You remind me of your mother.”_

_The Emperor turned and left without another word. The prince lifted the slave’s bloody face. “I’m sorry. I just, I was scared of him, but I couldn’t let him hurt you.”_

_Shou sniffled as he felt his master shake and then fell forward passing out. The blonde stared in shock as the prince laid there in his arms._

The ashy blonde felt a warm hand on his cold, wet face, so he opened his eyes to find his eyes sore and heavy. He lifted his head from the thighs he was laying and found the prince sitting up, smiling at him.

“Kouyou!” Shou shouted, embracing the honey blonde and pulling him into a kiss. He pulled away and started crying again. “You’re ok.”

The prince smiled. “Of course I am. It’s because of you…because you stayed beside me.”

The ashy blonde smiled as he laid his head on Kouyou’s neck. “I’m happy. Though, I’m really tired, but I’m happy.”

“You’ve been up all night and most the day crying, I’m not surprised.”

“How did you know?”

“The nurse told me. Go to sleep, you need it.”Kouyou kissed his slave on the forehead. Shou smiled, but it dropped in less than a minute and his body relaxed as he fell into a deep slumber.


	12. Chapter 12

            Waking up from this dreary state was quite challenging. The blonde grunted, trying his best to get his eyes opened. He felt a soft hand rub his cheek, a muffled voice close to his ear, and the warmth he’s felt so few times. Blinking several times to clear the shapes in the room, Reita finally opened his eyes. He looked at the leg he was laying on, then turned his head up to find Aoi smiling down at him.

“I’m glad you’re finally awake.”

Reita sat up and looked at his surroundings for a second before his heart pounded when he saw the mattress. He turned and looked at the raven who just gently rubbed his cheek. “Aoi.”

The man bobbed his head before pulling the blonde against his body into a hug. “You’re safe now. Don’t worry.”

The younger pressed against him and clenched his shirt as his heart pounded. He felt it again, he felt safe in the raven’s arms. He felt comfortable. He felt the other’s arms tighten protectively as he snaked his arms around Aoi. This feeling brought back memories of warmth and love. He jerked out of the hug. “Kai?”

“He’s ok,” Aoi said, rubbing his cheek. “He’s a few rooms down. Do you want to go see him?” Reita shook his head yes. “Ok, he’s two doors down on the right. I can’t walk around, so you have to go by yourself, ok?”

The blonde shook his head again, before sliding off the bed. He looked at the raven again before walking towards the door. Stepping out of the door, he wiggled his toes to find himself barefooted. He looked down to see that he was wearing a baggy shirt and boxers, but then he looked up and started walking down the hallway. It didn’t take him but a few second to walk up to his brother’s room and cautiously entered. He took a few steps before biting his lip when he saw his brother laying in the bed, holding his lover close. Ruki was sleeping against the brunette’s chest as Kai stroked the younger’s back.

“Kai?”He whispered.

“Reita.” The brunette whispered with a smiled. He waved his brother to come closer so they could hug. “How are you feeling?”

The blonde shook his head, saying he was ok, but something was on his mind as he grazed his fingers on the bed. “Why…it doesn’t hurt here?”

The captain raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“No hurt. When Aoi is around and when you around and there is a bed. It does not hurt.”

Kai was surprised at how much the blonde spoke in one sentence, but grabbed his hand. “That’s because we care about you Akira. We would never intentionally hurt you. We want to protect you and love you.”

“Love?”

“Yes.”

“What is love?”

The brunette’s eyes widen. “Well…there’s different types of love. Our love, me and you, is brother love. We care strongly for each other, we’re protective of each other and we take care of each other. Then there is love like…mine and Ruki’s. He makes my heart flutter, he makes me feel happy and comfortable.”

“Does he make you feel warm and safe?”

Kai smiled, “Yes. It’s like brother love except…well, it’s hard to explain, but when you feel it, you know it. Your heartbeat speeds up, you get flustered and other reactions. It depends on who you are really.”

Reita looked over at Ruki. “You love him. Does he love you?”

“Well I’m pretty sure he does. If he didn’t then we wouldn’t be like this.”

“Is it nice laying like this, with him?”

“I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.”

The blonde shook his head and looked down at their connected hands. It was warm and nice, but it wasn’t what Reita was looking for. He slowly moved his hand away before he stepped back.

“What’s wrong?”

The younger shook his head. “Going now. Sleep.”

“Ok.” Kai whispered as he watched his brother walk out.

~          Reita walked quickly back to his room where he found Aoi talking to a man in white, a doctor. He cautiously approached, catching the raven’s attention, who smiled and waved for him to come closer. The blonde walked over, but kept a distance from the doctor.

“You just need to stay off it for at least another day, so your stitches won’t rip. You can leave whenever.”

“What about Reita?” Aoi looked at the younger man and so did the doctor.

“He’s fine.”

“But he can’t go home.” They looked at the door to find the short therapist.

“Why?”

Kyo sighed as he walked in. “I have to check him, make sure he’s _really_ ok.”

Aoi’s brow furrowed. “He’s fine.”

The short blonde glared at the younger man. “I have to make sure. I’ll take him to my office and drop him off at your house when we’re done.”

“Can’t it wait?”

“No.”Kyo said sharply. He grabbed Reita’s arm and tugged him. “Let’s go Reita.”

The blonde pulled back and looked at Aoi for help, but the raven sighed. “I’m sorry Reita, but you have to. Don’t worry, it’ll be ok.”

The younger looked at him with sad eyes as he was gently pulled out of the room. Aoi looked at the floor before looking up at the doctor. “Will you get me some crutches, I’d like to go home now.”

~          The raven opened the door to his home and limped in on the crutches. He went straight to the couch where he plopped down, moved around, and laid on his back. He turned his head over and looked at the picture on his coffee table.

“Mom. Dad.” He closed his eyes. “What do I do? I…I’m so confused. I wish you were still here.”

            _Many years ago, the raven was young boy and his family was alive. They were happy, living in a neutral zone, an area that didn’t want to be part of the Kingdom nor Rebellion. They cared for each other and they helped each other. They grew and raised their own food, they hunted, harvested, and even made their own clothes. This is where Aoi grew up. This is the land he knew and loved. This is where his life changed forever._

_The young boy had dark hair, always had the shining raven color, he was short tempered, protective of his friends, and had a very good heart. He was sitting on his usual spot at the playground, on top of the dome jungle gym, beside his best friend, Masahito Kojima._

_“Yuu?”_

_“Hmm?”_

_“You’ll be fourteen tomorrow.”_

_“I know. This suck Kojima.”_

_“How?” the younger brunette looked at his friend._

_“I have to start working in the fields the day after and start taking my hunting lessons. I won’t be able to hang out here anymore.”_

_“Not at all?”_

_Yuu shook his head no. “Father says I’ve had fourteen years to have fun, now I must work.”_

_“Then I’ll work too!”_

_“You’re not hold enough.”_

_Kojima slouched. “No fair.”_

_“Shi-Shiroyama-kun?”_

_They turned to find their other friend walking around to them with a red face._

_“What’s up Kana?”_

_“Um…”She looked away, then bit her lip before looking back up._

_“Kana has a crush on Shiroyama! Run Shiroyama-kun! She has cooties” A few boys had overheard them and shouted out the embarrassing truth. Yuu looked down at the blood red girl and saw tears running down her face before she had ran off. He jumped off the dome and quickly ran to her, cutting her off. She ran into his arms, making them lose their balance, but they managed to catch themselves. He stepped back to give her some space._

_“You like me?” He muttered._

_She shook. “I…I…ah!” She was shocked when she felt his lips on her forehead. He pulled away with a smile._

_“I like you too.”_

_She smiled as she blushed, but before they could say anything, the three boys were pushed down in front of them Kojima stepped on one with his arms crossed. “Now apologize to Kana-chan!”_

_“Sorry. Sorry Kana-chan. Yeah sorry.” They muttered. The younger boy got off and allowed them to run away before he smiled at his two best friends.  “So what do we have planned to day.”_

_Kana smiled as she grabbed both boy’s hands. “Let’s go to the pond!” She giggled, dragging the boys before they could respond._

_They watched the sun set as they continued skipping rocks. Yuu smiled as he looked at the scene, but he felt strange. He could quite place it._

_“We’ll be friends forever right?” The other two looked at him. “I don’t want these day to end, they’re too precious.”_

_“Of course we’ll be friends forever. Why are you talking this way?” Kojima asked._

_The raven shrugged. “Not sure. I just have this feeling that something bad is going to happen. Maybe it’s because the beautiful sight is fading before our eyes. I really want to take it all in while I can with my friends.”_

_Kana sat down, Kojima sat beside her and they looked out at the setting golden orb. “We’ll always be friends. We have to protect each other, but mostly you two have to protect me.”_

_They laughed at her comment and Kojima added to it. “and eat together, we have to have each other to eat together.”_

_Yuu smiled at the younger boy’s comment. “and watch sun sets together.”_

_“You two will always protect me right?” Kana asked. They looked at each other._

_“Of course we will. We won’t let anything happen to you.” The young raven said. “Why ask such a silly question?”_

_“Why did you ask if we would be friends forever, because that’s pretty silly.”_

_They looked at each other and started laughing._

_“Kojima!” A lady yelled._

_“Kana!” Then another._

_“Yuu!” A man this time._

_“Aww man.” The younger boy sighed. “I don’t want to go home yet.”_

_“We have too.” The girl said, standing up. “We’ll see you tomorrow Yuu.”_

_He waved and watched as his two friends ran off towards their homes. He turned to look at the sun one last time before standing up and walking towards home._

_The next day was full of cheer and laughter as Yuu blew out the candles on his cake. He sat back and watched as his mother sliced the treat into even pieces for everybody. As soon as he and his friends got their slices, they ran off to be alone for awhile. His parents weren’t sad that he wanted to hang out with them more because they knew he wouldn’t get much time to see them for a while. They told him that and he soon found out how right they were. The day after the party, along with the next month, Yuu’s days were full of learning how to harvest, work a gun, shooting it, and finding food. He was sad that he rarely saw his friends, but was happy to be able to learn life’s important things. If you don’t work, you don’t eat and Yuu’s stomach was very important to him. So he was hard at work, currently looking through the fields to try and find ripe apples. He found a few out of his reach, so he sat the basket down and jumped on the tree to climb it. Up towards the middle, he rested his back on a branch, stretched his shirt out, then started filling it with bright red apples. He found that he could only hold on to five, so he jumped down, only to find his basket missing. He looked around the tree, but it was gone._

_“Oh no, that was mom’s favorite basket.” Yuu whimpered, but heard a bush rustle. He turned to see a few leaves falling off a  shaky tree, but he pretended not to notice. He walked towards it, pretending to look for his basket until he was in the perfect spot. Before he could look up to catch the thief, he was already on his back with the culprit on top of him._

_“Hi Yuu! Did you miss me?” The young teen giggled._

_“Kojima!” the  raven shouted. “Get off.”_

_The boy did so, allowing his friend to get up. “You want some help?”_

_“You’re supposed to be in the village. What are you doing?”_

_“I wanted to play or work with you, either way I just wanted to hang out. I miss my best friend.”_

_“Right.”Yuu sighed, getting up. “Now hand me the basket.”_

_“Hmm…”Kojima thought before turning and running. “Catch me first.”_

_“Hey!” The young teen went after his friend with a scowl, but he couldn’t help but laugh. He chased his friend through the trees and around other workers. They didn’t care, they were having too much fun. Yuu finally caught up and tackled his friend to the ground._

_“Gotcha!” The older boy laughed. “It’s only a matter of time before I become faster than you.”_

_“I’d like to see that happen.” Kojima laughed as his friend got off and they sat down catching their breathes. “See, that was fun—”_

_“Yuu! Kojima!” An angry voice yelled behind them, making them flinch. They swallowed hard as they tilted their head back to see Yuu’s angry father._

_“H-hey dad.”_

_“H-hi Shiroyama.”_

_The father picked both boy’s up and started dragging them by their ears, not listening to their whines._

_Shiroyama walked through the door that was opened for him and was still dragging the two boys. A man at the dining table raised up with a angered face._

_“What do you think you’re doing Shiroyama?”_

_“Masahito, your_ son _was disturbing my son’s work! Now keep him here where he belongs!”_

_“You saying my boy doesn’t deserve to be out there, but doing work in the house.”_

_“That’s exactly what I’m saying. He’s a nuisance.”_

_“Well your boy is no different! He’s coming around here at night and sneaking in my boy’s room so they can hang out! Why don’t you keep him on a leash.”_

_“Father!” Kojima shouted._

_“Hey!” Yuu shouted, pulling his ear away from his father._

_“Quiet.”_

_“Don’t tell my boy to be quiet.” Shiroyama got into the other’s face._

_“What are you going to do about it?”_

_“Enough!” The woman shouted, smacking both men upside the head._

_“Ow! Honey.” Her husband whined._

_“Masahito-chan, that hurt.” Shiroyama cried, rubbing the back of his head._

_“You two went too far. You scared your sons.”They looked down at the once scared, now confused boys. “Apologize.”_

_“Sorry.” They both mumbled, but Yuu’s father shot his head up. “Kojima, I’m sorry, but you’re not old enough. Besides, all you’re going to do is play around and not get anything done.”_

_“Oh, shut up.” The woman mumbled. “Were you two so different when you were kids, and don’t lie.”_

_The two men smiled at each other. “Dad,” Yuu spoke up, “Masahito-san, can Kojima work with me.”_

_They looked at each other and sighed, remembering all the mischief they themselves got into when they were young._

_Two months later, the two young friends were walking in the woods, their hunting rifles hanging from their backs, as they dragged a deer behind them._

_“I can’t wait for dad to see this.” Kojima giggled. “He’s going to be so happy.”_

_“You did good.”Yuu complimented as they made their way to the opening in the woods where they were supposed to meet with their fathers, but the two elder men were gone. They looked around for a moment before sitting down beside their game._

_“Maybe he thought I couldn’t bring home dinner again.” The younger one whimpered._

_“No way. I made dad promise me that they wouldn’t hunt until we got back. Dad never breaks his promises.”_

_So they sat and waited a little longer, not speaking, but listening to the sounds of nature. The birds chirping, flapping their wings, and flying through the trees. The distant sound of crickets and cicadas becoming louder. The sounds of two animals fighting over a female. The sound of the wind dancing the with the leaves every so often, casting a pleasant breeze on the two boys. Yuu found himself staring up at fiery sky. He studied how the reds, oranges and yellows mixed and swirled with slight shades of purple._

_“What was that?” Kojima broke his thoughts_

_“Hmm…what?” They stayed quiet, Yuu concentrating on his hearing until the sound blasted through his ears and the wind. The birds flew in fear, animals started running in different directions. “It came from the village.”_

_They stood up and grabbed their guns as more shots were fired from their home. They clenched their guns as they ran through the woods._

_As soon as they made it out of the trees, they gasped at the sight. The villagers shooting at people in black as they shot back. Screams could be heard from women, machine guns went off, houses crackled as they were set a blazed, and the sounds of terror hit the young boys hard. Yuu clenched his gun._

_“Yuu!”_

_The raven turned to look at his friend to find him looking to the side, where two men were walking towards  them, aiming their guns at them. “Drop them!”_

_The two young boys shook, but dropped their weapons, only to hear the clacking of the men’s guns. Before either could blink, shots fired and both strangers were on the ground bleeding. The raven turned to see his father running to them._

_“Dad!”_

_The man reached them and grabbed their shoulders. “Listen to me boys, you have to get to the house. The children are down in the basement. I need you to get to them.”_

_“We can fight!”_

_“I know, but I need you to protect them. Yuu, this is a lesson you must never forget. The smallest task, or one that seems most insignificant, could mean the difference between life and death. Winning and losing. You have to go and protect them, no one else can. Take your guns and head into the woods, as quickly as you can, go around to our house and get into the basement. I love you.” He hugging his son before standing up. “I’m trusting you with this.”_

_Yuu shook his head and grabbed his gun. “I love you too. We’ll protect them.”_

_“Good. No go, quickly!”_

_Kojima grabbed his gun and got his feet as his friend made his way into the woods, luckily the younger was able to catch up._

_They tried to block out the sounds of the war that had finally reached their home. They tried to hide their fear and tears from each other. They tried to be brave, but with each step, each shaky breath, the closer they got showing their emotions. As the sky darkened, they made their way to Yuu’s home, but they had to hide in bushes to avoid enemy attention. They waited until the coast was clear before they made a dash to the basement doors. They swung them open and shut them as they ran down the steps. They were greeted by a few woman, older teens with weapons and most the children of the village._

_“Yuu! Kojima!” Kana shouted as she ran to them to hug them, but was shushed by everybody. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”_

_The two boys hugged her back before taking a look at the others in the small room. Yuu broke from the embrace to approach the older teens. “What are we supposed to do? Sit and wait?”_

_“Yes.” One of the boys said. “That was what we were told.”_

_The raven looked around. The children of different ages were covered in dirt, some with blood, all were scared and most were quietly crying. The women were no different, but they were more calm, though he did notice that three of the four of them had enlarged bellies. Perhaps pregnant? The five teens; two boys, three girls; were also dirty, but they had weapons as if they had fought a bit. Each had a gun, the boys, who were twins, had machetes strapped to their sides. Yes they were armed, but they were terrified. One thing father taught him was that in the face danger, don’t show fear, for if you do, others will become weak and scared. You must stay strong to keep them strong and cry only when the fight is over. So he had to stay strong, not just for his friends, but for the others as well. Even the loud thumps of people walking in the house of above didn’t shake him, or he wouldn’t show it at least. He squeezed his gun as his eyes followed the noise until it was gone, and everyone let out a deep breath._

_“I’m scared.” Kana whimpered, holding onto Kojima._

_“Shh.” Yuu let out softly as he patted her head. They stayed there in silence, only it wasn’t silent since the war outside was overcoming them._

_“What’s that smell?” A kid whimpered, walking to one of the women._

_They looked at each other. “Burning wood.”_

_Yuu looked up as heat started pour over them and crackling noises became louder than the fight. “We have to get out of here.”_

_“Are you mad?” A twin asked. “We’ll be killed._

_“Not if we get to the forest. We know these woods, we can out run them and hide from them. We have the upper hand since we know this place and it’s dark out.”_

_“No way.” He said. “It’s too risky. You could get us all killed.”_

_“We got in without being noticed, we just have to be careful!”_

_“No! We’re not going out there.”_

_“Guys.” Kana whimpered._

_“We have too, they set my house on fire. It’s leaking through.”_

_“_ Guys!” _She yelled. “Look up!”_

_Everybody shot their heads up to find smoke flowing in, the wood snapping as it bent._

_“Run!” One of the boys shouted, and suddenly they all charged to the stairs. Kojima was pushed out of Kana’s grip. Yuu was knocked over onto the steps, barely missing the trampling feet. Before he realized what was going on, everyone was running back down as shots were fired at the entrance. Dazed from a hit to his head, he stood up and stumbled over to Kojima, who was laying unconscious on the steps. He was bleeding a little from the head, but a loud snapping caught the raven’s attention. He turned his head to stare straight into Kana’s tear-filled eyes._

_“_ Yuu! _” She cried as the burning ceiling collapsed on top of her and the rest of  the group._

 _“_ Kana! _” He screamed with all his might, but it was nowhere near the level of screams of the victims under the ruble. He went to try to help them, but when he tried to stand up, the last thing he saw was another chunk of the ceiling falling above him and Kojima._

_The faint smell of burning wood filled his nostrils, the sound of the crackling wood filled his ears, so he expected to see destruction when he opened his eyes. Yuu blinked a few times before slowly raising up, pieces of wood falling off his back. He looked around, ignoring his sore body. He could see the bright sky, his house was gone, well most of it. He looked behind him at the basement to find a pile black wood with a burnt hand stiffly sticking out. Yuu’s eyes teared up._

_“Kana.” He whimpered, knowing he just lost one of his closest friends, knowing he couldn’t keep his promise of protecting her. He looked around to find his best friend missing. “Kojima?” He stumbled to his feet, holding the tears for later. He made his way out of the steps to find his whole village burned to the ground, bodies laying about, but a few people were walking around. He limped out towards them, looking at all the bloody bodies and their pale faces. He glanced around when saw a familiar couple laying in a puddle of blood. His eyes watered up as he walked closer and he fell to his knees beside them. The man was holding his wife, as if protecting her from gunfire since his back was full of bullet holes. Their heads so close, it looked like they had kissed before they had died._

_“Father.” He whimpered, finally letting those tears fall. “_ Daddy! Mommy!” _He screamed out gripping his head and bending over. His cries were joined by other survivors, as if he started a chain reaction._

_“Yuu.” A familiar voice._

_The raven turned to see his friend covered in blood and bruises, his eyes full of tears. “Kojima!”_

_They hugged each other as they cried a little more, but the younger pulled away. “Yuu, mom’s hurt. She won’t wake up. Her breathing is really slow.”_

_The raven looked at his parents, then at his friend. “I don’t know what to do! Dad! Dad didn’t prepare me for this!”_

_Through their cries, they didn’t even notice the trucks coming to a stop, didn’t notice people running off to help the wounded, didn’t notice the people heading towards them._

_“Where are you hurt?”_

_They looked up to find an older man accompanied by four women and two men dressed in medical outfits. Yuu looked into his eyes. “I…want my daddy. Why did they kill my daddy?_ Why did they kill Kana?” _He screamed with the last of his energy, falling into the man’s arms as he passed out._

_“Kazamasa-san, we need to see him.” A lady said._

_The man shook his head. “Poor thing.”_

_“Mommy, you have to help my mommy!” Kojima screamed. That’s all it took for two of them to follow him to his mother. The old man named Kazamasa stayed as one of the women cleaned the young boy up and bandaged him._

_“I know what it’s like to lose your whole family.” The man whispered, petting Yuu’s head. “I’ve lost my, wife, my children, and my grandchild is even missing. I know what it’s like to be alone from a tragedy. I’ll help you.”_

_Three years of fighting had changed the raven. He became stronger, smarter, resilient, and trustworthy. He made a promise to always protect his friends and he’s stood by that promise. Even now he keeps his guard up as they ride in the back of the truck, on their way to help a village that was attacked. Though, he seems calm and relaxed, his hands don’t leave his gun. He looked up to his best friend to find Manabu sleeping on his shoulder._

_“Don’t you get tired of that Byou?”_

_The bleached blonde smiled, rubbing his step brother’s head. “No way. I love it too much.”_

_Aoi bobbed his head. The raven looked away from his friend. They had a moment where Byou blamed Kana’s death on him, but after a while, he just realized that he was hurting his friend more. He did all he could to get his friend back and he was happy when he did, though Aoi had become more quiet. Even now the raven was staring out, avoiding any conversation. He blinked and sadness filled his face when they reached the burned down village. It brought back painful memories, but he had to fight through them as the trucks came a stop. They were called in for rescue and recovery since they were the closest, but if they had known about the sight, they would have had another group go. Too many dead families, too many young souls taken before they found their place in life, too many for no reason. Searching the bodies, many puked, some cried, but they all knew what they had to do. Aoi went to check each body he came across to see if they were alive or not, but most weren’t. He made it to one area where he found a young man covered in blood, surrounded by dead bodies of soldiers of the Kingdom. He was in shock at how many there were, fifteen or twenty lay dead around this man. He stepped over the corpses to get to the brunette, but he didn’t have to get too close before he knew the stranger was breathing. He rushed to the survivor, yelling for help as he kneeled beside him. He lifted the man’s head to find him about the same age as himself. His hair was brown and messy, his face was dirty and a bloody hand print was on his cheek. Aoi patted the brunette’s face._

_“Wake up, your safe. Wake up.”_

_“Hmm.” The brunette grunted before squeezing his eyes and blinking them open. He seemed dazed at first, but then he gripped Aoi’s shirt as he began to cry. “They killed everybody. Mika, Daisuke, Asuka, and John.  Why did they kill them?_ They saved me and those bastards killed them! _So I killed them. All the ones that hadn’t been killed. All the ones who couldn’t escape. I killed them.”_

_That explains these bodies. The raven smiled down at the man. “I’m Aoi, from the main Rebellion city. I’m going to help you. You’re safe now.”_

_The man closed his eyes. “She named me…Kai.”_

~          Aoi opened his eyes to find the sun going down, past the clouds, through his window. He sighed as he sat up and someone knocked on the door. The raven scratched his head before getting his crutches and walking to the door. He opened it to find Miyavi giving a sleeping Reita a piggy back ride.

“Finally, I’ve been knocking for the past ten minutes. Kyo asked me to drop him off.”

“Oh, lay him on the couch please. Did he fall asleep?”

“Obviously.” Miyavi gently laid the blonde down and covered him up. “I’m going to head out now, take care.”

Aoi led him to the door and closed it behind him not seeing the slight smile on the man’s face.

~          Miyavi walked into Kyo’s office and found the bleached blonde at his desk writing things down. The brunette walked in closer to find the manila folder on the table. “Is this it?”

Kyo wrote a few more things before walking over with a paper and a vile of blood. He wrapped it tightly with bubble wrap before slipping it and the paper into the folder. He sealed it and handed it over to Miyavi. “It’s very important he gets this. It has to arrive safely.”

“Then what?”

“We wait until we are told what to do with him. Him and his brother were both labeled failed experiments. Though, not completely. I wrote that it may be in their interests that they study one or both of them. Find out what makes them independent and prevent it from happening to the next experiment, if they choose to redo it of course.”

Miyavi smiled.“I’ll send these out.”


	13. Chapter 13

            At the hospital, Reita looks at the raven, begging him to let him stay, but Aoi tells him to go. He followed Kyo out, where the short blonde grabbed his wrist and quickly pulled him to the elevator. They made it down to a waiting car, which took them to the therapist’s office. The tall blonde followed Kyo in and to the room where they would talk. Reita sat down as the other did a few things outside. The blonde looked out the window to find birds dancing with each other in the light blue sky. The white puffy clouds signaled rain would be coming soon. He looked back at the other blonde, who was opening a folder and sitting in the chair across from him. Kyo looked up with a smile.

“I’m glad you weren’t hurt too badly. Now, what do you remember about the fight?”

Reita looked away and shrugged his shoulders.

“Come on, tell me. It’ll help out a lot.” Still the younger remained quiet. “Kai goes through the same thing. His stamina increases greatly along with his strength and speed. His body is very durable like yours. Well, you two are brothers after all.”

The blonde looked at the therapist. “Don’t…remember.”

Kyo’s eye twitched with irritation. “What do you last remember?”

“Kenta…was attacked. Then…”Reita trailed off. The images of him fighting the creature flashed through his mind. He looked up at the therapist and he couldn’t help but feel…uncomfortable. Kyo’s eyes were sharp, intrusive, and keen. He felt like they were piercing his soul. “…don’t remember.”

The shorter blonde raised a brow and sighed. He stood up and walked to the window, before looking at Reita. “You were a slave. You were forced to have sex, weren’t you?”

“Sex?”

Kyo walked over and pushed the blonde on his back and gripped him between the legs. Reita whimpered and pushed him away. “When they touched you there and stuck their dick inside you. That’s sex.” The short blonde stood back up. “You’re so innocent, yet your body is so impure. I wouldn’t expect it to be.”

“Leave…” Reita muttered “I want…to leave.”

“We’re not finished yet.”

The blonde stood up and headed to the door, but when he opened it, he saw a man with black hair standing there. He smiled as he walked in, forcing Reita back. “You need some help?”

“Please Miyavi.” Kyo sighed. The captain gripped the younger’s shoulders and forced him to sit back on the couch. He walked behind the couch and stood, waiting for his instructions. “You know Reita, Kai never gave me his real name. I was wondering what it is. Also, I want to know your name as well. Would you tell me?”

“No.”

“Why not?”Reita just glared at him, receiving a glare in return. “I tried to do this the easy way. Miyavi, if you would.”

Before the younger could react, the captain had already stuck his neck with a syringe. He gasped, but it was too late, the serum had entered his bloodstream and was taking effect. His limbs started going numb, his eyes getting heavy, and his mind was becoming fuzzy. He breathed out as he fell to the side. Kyo walked over with a smile and turned the ex-slave in his back.

“Let’s get started.”

_Akira opened his heavy, red eyes and looked at the moon through the window of the moving car. He looked down at the shackles on his wrists and ankles before looking at the man beside him. He was wearing all black, he had on boots, gloves, and holster for a gun. There was a grey jacket laying beside him with a star on a shoulder. Akira felt the car stop, then it started moving only to stop again a few minutes later. The man beside him, grabbed his hair, making the young boy yelp as he was pulled out. Akira looked up at the large castle before he was pulled again, where he fell._

_“Get up!” The man yelled, yanking the boy up. Akira whimpered as he was dragged by the hair into the building. The threshold was large, beautifully decorated with gold, reds, purples, and greens. The floors were bloody red with maroon clouds swirling in the lighter color. The stairwell rails were made of mahogany wood with lion statues on each side of them. Before he could take anymore in, Akira was pulled down a yellow hallway with many doors. Past that was another hallway, but the doors were less and more spaced out. He kept his head down even when they stopped to open one of them. He was dragged into a large room that was pretty empty except for a marble bench. The man finally let go of his hair and unchained him._

_“Undress.” He ordered. Akira shook, but stood still, which was a mistake. He was slapped hard across the face and fell to the floor. “Get undressed!”_

_The young boy stood back up and glared at the man. This time, when he tried to slap Akira, his wrist was caught by the younger. He kicked the boy’s stomach, knocking him over. The man got over him and started ripping his clothes, but Akira fought back. Punching and kicking his kidnapper until he hit the guy right between the legs. The boy took this chance to jump to his feet and made a run for the door. Akira ran out  and down the hallway. He stopped when it split into three directions. Straight, right, or left._

_“Get back here!” The man yelled, as he stumbled out of the room. The boy yelped and went straight, hoping that was the way he came from. He could hear the man’s footsteps close behind him, but he refused to be caught. Coming to a left or right decision, made him panic. The hallway didn’t go straight , but he didn’t know which way to go. He took a left. At this point, he just wanted to get away from his kidnapper. He took various turns, completely random, and continued until he finally realized he wasn’t being chased anymore.  He slowed to a stop, catching his breath as he looked around. The castle was a giant maze. All the hallways looked the same. The only difference were that some of them had less doors than others.  Once he was breathing normally, he started sneaking about, looking for anyway out to the entrance._

_“I remember when me and Yutaka got lost in the forest. He marked the trees so we could back track.” Akira mumbled. “I need to find something to mark the hallways, that way I know if I been down it or not.” He smiled to himself. He placed his ear against a door to see if anybody was inside. When he couldn’t hear anything, he decided to open and take a peak. It looked like a study. A desk in the center, a window and a chalk board. Finding it empty, he walked in and looked around the desk. Right on top was a pencil. He grabbed it with a smile._

_“I wanted to give you a day off since you’re ahead of schedule.” A woman’s voice came from outside. Akira panicked and quickly hid under the desk. He heard the door open and two sets of footsteps walking in.  “Your father however wanted me to continue your lessons. He said you always need to be ahead.”_

_“Why can’t he ever give me a break?” A boy his age asked, walking to the desk. “Sasaki sensei, can’t we just pretend we did today’s lesson?”_

_The teacher laughed. “No my young prince. Now, go sit.”_

_The boy walked to his desk and gasped when he saw a kid under it. Akira placed his finger on his lips, begging the prince to be quiet. He shook his head and got into his seat to start his lesson._

_Looking down every so often, the prince wondered why there was a kid hiding in his study. The boy’s shirt was ripped, cheek swollen a bit, and his eyes were a little puffy. His teacher wrote several math problems on the board and turned with a smile._

_“I’m gonna go use the bathroom. You think you can handle these by yourself?”_

_“Yes ma’m.”_

_“I’ll be right back then.”_

_As soon as the door shut, the prince looked straight down. “Who are you?”_

_“Why should I tell you?”_

_“Well, I’m prince Kouyou. You have to tell me or I’ll call people in to get you.”_

_“No! Please don’t. I just want to go home.”_

_“Home? What do you—” The prince was cut off when the door opened suddenly and two palace guards walked in. One was wearing a grey jacket with medals on left side and black pants. The other was a normal guard, he was wearing black pants, black short-sleeve shirt, fighting gloves, combat boots, and a half helmet._

_“My prince, have you seen a young boy running around? He’s a prisoner.”_

_“Prisoner? Why?” He took a quick glance down, but looked back up when he realized what he was doing._

_The guard turned his head and slowly walked around, pretending to look at the room. “That’s none of your concern. He is quite dangerous though.”_

_“How so?”_

_The guard walked up beside the prince and leaned down a bit. “Well, you see…” He threw the desk back and grabbed Akira by the neck. The young boy screamed and struggled in the strong grip. “Sedate him.”_

_The other rushed over and stabbed Akira in the neck with a syringe. It took several minutes for the serum too kick in and knock him out. The prince watched with wide eyes the whole time and flinched when he heard his teacher. “What’s going on?”_

_The guard tucked Akira under his arm and walked past her. “Sorry for the disturbance.” He walked out as the other cleaned up the mess they made in the study._

_Hours later, Akira woke up on the stone floor of a strange room. He sat up to find himself chilled to the bone. He rubbed his arms to find his shirt was gone. He looked down find a cloth hanging from his waist covering his front and back. He looked around to find a few others in the room._

_“What’s going on? Where am I?”_

_“Shh.” One of the men hushed him. There were six others in the room. Four of them were males, two females. Three of the men looked like teens and one of the girls did too. He stood up and looked around. “Stay still.”_

_“Why?”_

_“Master may not be here right now, but were still not allowed to do anything without his permission. We can even be punished for talking right now.” The young girl whispered. He looked at them. All of them were shaking, their bodies were covered in scars, injuries and bandages. Akira swallowed hard, but looked at the door._

_“I’m getting out of here.”_

_“You mustn’t.”_

_“Shh, let him do what he wants Minori. He’ll learn.” A man whispered. Akira paid no mind and walked out the unlocked door. He looked at the maze like halls before going back in and looking for something to mark the walls with. The room was large. Two couches sat across from each other with a table between them. There was a step that stretched across the room, the bed was on it along with two doors on opposite walls. There were shelves on the walls with statues and figurines covering them. The other people in the room had specific spaces where they stood. Akira decided not to look at the room anymore. He found a pen on the table and walked out. He turned right and walked to the end where he marked both walls at the bottom so no one could see. This is where he started figuring out the hallways_

_Sneaking around people  became a breeze after a few days of venturing the hallways. He was caught many times and placed back into the same room over and over, but that just helped him more. He started figuring out the maze, what areas to avoid, what places he wanted to search later. He didn’t understand why the others were so scared. He found no reason to be. He was going down a hallway when he spotted a man sliding a large metal door open. A sharp pain hit his head and a dream he had flashed through._ He and his brother where carried through a similar door and downstairs. They were tied to tables. A figure with a blurry face smiled and held up a needle.

_“No.” Akira gasped. “It was just a dream…wasn’t it?”_

_The boy bit his lip and quickly ran to the door before it closed, just barely making it through. He was on some steps watching the man that just entered walking down into a lit up room. He quietly walked down and peeked in. There were computers all over and a table with a guy laying on it in the middle of the room._

_“What are we doing, Nishimura?” The man that had just walked down asked while putting a white coat on._

_“The Emperor ordered his eye sight altered so that it’s stronger, Yoshiki sensei.”_

_“That’s all. How boring.”_

_“He is to be the Emperor’s personal guard and an assassin.”_

_Akira turned and pushed against the wall. The room was all too familiar for him. Even the man in white. The boy’s breathing shook. He turned and ran back up to the door. He wanted to get out. He was scared. He grabbed the door and slid it open before he ran out._

_He kept running down the halls, not even looking to make sure it was safe until he slowed with exhaustion. He sat on his knees staring at the floor as tears dripped down his face._

_“It had to have been a dream.” He whimpered. “We never came here. We’ve never been anywhere near here. Yutaka…I’m scared. Where are you? I want to go home.”_

_He sniffled before getting to his feet. He looked around the walls to see if he could find a mark to see where he was at. It didn’t take him long to find one though. He looked at the mark for a moment. How many days has he been here? How many halls has he marked? How many people have seen him? How many times has he been caught? He’d lost count, or more like he never counted in the first place. He was so determined to get out, that he didn’t even bother. He glared at the floor. He was going to find a way out. He smiled._

_“I think I want to play a few games with the people here.”_

_“Catch him!” A guard yelled, running after Akira. He grinned as ran from the large group. It had been a week since he decided to do this. It was a game of tag for him and the guards. He would purposely get their attention and have them chase him through the halls. The first two days, he was caught easily, but he learned quickly. He used the maze of halls to his advantage. He had learned them all by now and making sure to lose them. He even started venturing the rooms, catching even more attention. Not intentionally. He was stuck and went into a room full of officers having a meeting. That was the second time he got caught. He learned of course and was now making strategies that were working. The past three days he’s made it back to the room without being followed. He didn’t realize how much of a panic was spreading through the castle in doing so, since at that point they couldn’t find him. He decided to explore the area more today since he had master the art of losing the idiot guards. Walking into a hall he didn’t know, he took the moment to add it to the map in his head. He walked down it, to find it different. The hall was a darker yellow and the doors had gold lion heads on them. He heard crying from one of them so he peeked in. He saw the boy from the study laying naked on a bed, crying. His face was swollen and his cheek bruised._

“Why? Why does…does this happen to me?” _The prince cried. Akira wanted to go in and find out what was wrong, but he didn’t know this area. He didn’t need to catch unwanted attention. He slipped away to map out more of the area, but when he turned the corner, he was quickly grabbed by a guard._

_“Let go of me!”_

_“Not this time kid. There’s someone here to see you.”_

_“Huh? Who?” He asked bluntly._

_Akira yelped when he was thrown into the room he first woke up in._

_“Ow.” He moaned sitting up. “Jerk.”_

_“I’ve been told you were causing trouble around here.”_

_The boy turned and looked up at the large man sitting on a couch. Akira’s stomach churned and shivers shot through his body. He knew this man, but from where? “Who are you?”_

_The man stood up and walked over to the young boy, where he slapped him across the face. Akira landed hard on the floor and yelled when the man stomped his foot down on his stomach. “I’m General Sakai. Your master. As a slave, you have no rights. You may not speak, walk around, nor escape from here. I didn’t think such a small child would cause so much trouble. If I had known, I would have left orders for you to be punished. That’s alright, I like teaching lessons myself.”_

_“Bastard! You kidnapped me!” Akira yelled._

_Sakai smiled as he reached down and picked the young up by the hair. He dragged Akira to the bed and threw him on it. He punched the boy in the face before climbing over him. The slave’s eyes wide at the man’s wicked grin._

_“Y-you. The hill. Soldiers. The horse. Tree. I-it wasn’t a dream.” He whimpered. The general raised a brow._

_“How do you remember that? I ordered for your memory to be erased.”_

_“You…you…_ get off me! Get away!” _Akira screamed, punching Sakai’s chest._

_The general grunted from the hits and punched the boy in the stomach, making him wither in pain. He sat up and took his shirt off before ripping Akira’s cloth off. The slave screamed as tears flowed down his cheek. He tried to punch the man away, but Sakai quickly tied his arms to the bed post._

_Akira squeezed his eyes shut, screaming with all his might._ “No!”

_The next morning, the slave woke up on the bed. His body was still shaking from the night before. His body wasn’t in much pain, but the memory, the thoughts were making him sick. He lifted himself up and looked around to find the man gone. His eyes were wide as he hugged his naked shoulders and brought his knees up to his chest. The young teenage girl walked up to him. Her brown hair was up in a ponytail, her breasts were covered by a thin cloth and she was wearing a clothe around her waist like he was before._

_“I was ordered to clean you up when you awoke.” She whispered. Akira didn’t make any motion for several minutes. He flinched at her touch and looked at her soft smile. “My name is Yumiko. You can trust me.”_

_She sat next to him as another slave handed a bowl to her. She started scrubbing his body down, cleaning off the filth that was on him._

_“Why?” His raspy voice whispered._

_“We’re slaves.”_

_“Why?” It seemed to be the only thing leaving his mouth. She saw the shock in his eyes and rubbed his cheek._

_“You’ll forget about this in time. We all will. We were injected with this stuff that makes are memories inexistent with time. We won’t remember the pain or anything. So don’t worry.”_

_“But it happened.” Akira whimpered. “That won’t change anything.”_

_“You’ll understand soon.” She whispered. He glared at her._

_“I’ll get out. I’ll get back home. I’ll get stronger. Then I will kill him for this.”_

_That night’s events slowed Akira down, it hurt his pride, made him sick, but it didn’t stop him. He started learning the rooms of the palace, mapping an area each day in his head. When the general started locking the door, he learned to pick it and continued on. The place was large, especially for his size, but he was making quick work. He wouldn’t let the ‘punishments’ stop him. No matter how many times Sakai did those things to him, he made sure to get out. After the general got dressed, he woke Akira himself. He forced the boy to stand up as he sat on the couch._

_“You’ve caused too much trouble. I’ve been thinking. Maybe I should put a leash on you. From today on, you will go where ever I go. That way, I can keep an eye on you. If you dare try anything, well, I have far greater punishments than just fucking you. Get dressed.”_

_Akira smirked. “No.”_

_“What did you say?”_

_“I said, no.”_

_“You have a lot of balls for a kid. Then again, it wouldn’t be fun if you didn’t.” Sakai smirked. “Okay then. No food. Or water.”_

_“I don’t care.”_

_“Get dressed, or you’re going naked.”_

_Akira thought for a moment before turning and grabbing the cloth. He slipped it and turned with a glare. “What now?”_

_Sakai slapped him in the face and turned. “I have no problem punishing you in front of people. Remember that.”_

_Akira hated following this man and was about to run, but then he realized, he would actually learn the place a lot easier this way. Still, he wanted to get revenge on that damned man. He didn’t want to run, everybody knows that tactic now and are actually on guard around him. He had to wait and he did. For seven months. It took him that long to learn the castle, the people, the exits, the strategies for escapes, but he also learned that it was hopeless. Even if he was good, Sakai still punished him. Guards knew his tactics and caught him most the time. He found that the entrances were always heavily guarded. When he was around or not. He was rarely allowed into rooms with windows, so he rarely saw the outside world anymore. He missed it so much. The sky, the sun, the cool breeze, the green grass, the fall leaves. Everything. His only sight to the outside world were flowers that he was soon ordered to take to the Royalty rooms every day. He took his time admiring the blooms, the colors and smells. They were his hope that he would escape anymore. Seeing them more and more, started giving him courage every day until he decided to escape. He was following his master like usual to a meeting he had. On the way, they had to pass the main entrance. He knew that there were eight guards inside, he wasn’t sure about the outside, but he figured about twice as much. This didn’t scare him, not anymore. The door had opened as they were walking past it. The queen was returning from a trip. The boy stopped walking._

_“What are you doing now?”He sighed. Akira glared up at him and smirked. Before the general could react, the boy darted for the door. “Stop him!”_

_The guards went to grab him, but he dodged their tackles and avoided their movements. He could feel the wind and see the sky as he was making his way through the door, but the moment was cut short. A guard had grabbed Akira’s hair and yanked him back. The door was quickly closed before he could regain his balance. Before he could move, he was kicked in the stomach and thrown onto his back. He looked up to find that it was Sakai stepping on his stomach, making him yell in pain._

_“I’ve had enough of you. Take him to the dungeon and chain him to the wall. I’ll be down after my meeting.” The general ordered._

_One of the guards took him down the one hallway he never got to see. There were no doors until the end. There was a metal one that you needed a key to open. He dragged Akira down the flight of stairs into the dark dungeon. There were dims lights so there was a little sight down there. He looked around at the cells that filled the large room. Some had people in them, who all looked dirty and bloody. He swallowed hard, but made sure to map the final room in his head. He counted the cells along the long walkway. They stopped at the end where he was placed on a pile of hay and his arms were placed in shackles that were chained to the wall. He watched the guard leave before he looked around. Strange weapons laid about, a table was off center, another that was vertical and had straps on it. The more he looked the more he came to realize that this was a torture chamber as well. He started pulling at his chains, trying to slip his hands out, hitting them against the wall, anything to get out. He heard footsteps walking towards him. Soon, he made out Sakai and a group of five men behind him, walking close as the general smiled._

_“I told you that I can give worse punishments than just me fucking you.”He gigged as he walked to the wall of weapons and pulled off a whip. “The punishment for a slave trying to escape is death, but I think I’ll make an exception for you.”_

_The whip dropped heavily on the floor. Akira shook as the groups’ laughter grew and his face paled when they dropped their pants. He gasped for air, pulling at his chains as tears rolled down his face. “No! Please no! I’ll be good!_  No! _”_

~          Reita gasped out as jumped from his slumber. He looked around to find himself in a dark room being lit up by lightening. He flinched when thunder rolled. He knew this room though. He was in Aoi’s home, sleeping on his couch. The blonde was still shaking and the storm wasn’t helping. A particular strike sounded like the crack of a whip, making Reita whimper. He stood on his shaky legs.

“Yu…K-Kai?” He muttered, walking down the hall. He walked into the room to find the raven sound asleep. “A-Aoi…Aoi?” He walked closer. “Aoi?”

The loud crack of thunder startled him and made him yell, waking the captain. Aoi shot up and looked around to find a shaken blonde on the verge of crying. “It’s just you. Hey, what’s wrong? What happened?” He got out of bed and walked closer. Reita leaned against him and dropped his head on the raven’s shoulder. Aoi carefully hugged him.

“Dream…past…”

The captain understood. He rubbed the others back with one hand and petted his head with the other, trying to calm him.  “It’s ok. You’re safe now remember? I won’t let anybody hurt you again. I promise.” Reita rubbed his head on the shoulder, but showing no signs of moving. “Why don’t we lay back down? Try and get more sleep?”

“Don’t leave me!” The blonde begged, surprising Aoi. The captain shook his head.

“Well, we can’t both sleep on the couch. Do you think you can try sleeping on the bed. I won’t do anything. I just want to help you.”

Reita bit his lip and tensed up, but feeling these hands calmed him so much. They made him feel sheltered. His body was so weak right now, he was so tired, and he was so lost. He wanted to be strong again. He shook his head ‘yes’. Aoi smiled and lead him to the bed. They slowly laid down before the captain covered them up. The blonde hugged the other tightly and laid his head on the raven’s shoulder. Aoi held Reita’s waist with one hand and petted his head with the other. He wanted to keep the blonde calm and help him sleep. Reita felt so warm and yes, for the first time, he felt truly protected.

~          On the other side of the city, Kyo was sitting, looking at the vile of red liquid on his desk. He looked past it at the photographs he took of Reita’s body while he was unconscious. These were just copies. The originals plus the first vile of blood had already been sent out along with his report.

“I guess your experiment wasn’t a failure sensei. Hopefully Jin found your records and has a sample to compare his blood to. Once he confirms it, we can start the experiment back up. Using these two as specimens, we can achieve your goal Yoshiki sensei. Super-soldiers. Unbeatable soldiers.” Kyo smiled. “We’ll be able to end this damn Rebellion. Put these insects in their place. Nobody will stand in our way.”


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Important Note: This fic is discontinued for now. I have no plans on returning to it any time soon.

            Kai looked out the window at the trees dripping with water. The morning light was warming up the cooled air from last night’s down pour. The sun was drying up the wet streets and homes, yet making the water glisten at the same time. The orb was giving beauty as well as taking it away. The brunette looked back at his lover, who was sleeping peacefully in bed while the doctor looked at his wounds. She had a good expression so Kai was feeling that Ruki was going to be fine.

“The bruising from when he was ganged up has gone down. His wrist is looking better and his should be able to move shoulder around in about another day. We’re taking him off the morphine, but the pain shouldn’t be too bad.”

The lieutenant smiled. “Thank you.”

“No problem.” She smiled, then she left. The brunette walked over to the table and left a note before placing a gentle kiss on his lover’s head. He quietly walked out and closed the door.

~          It didn’t take him long before he was home. His door was unlocked due to the construction, so he just walked right on in. A few people looked at him and smiled as they worked on the wall.

“Don’t mind me. I just came to pick up a few things for Ru.” Kai walked passed them, down to his room. Opening the door, he found the place a mess, but he’ll clean it up later. He grabbed a bag and put some clean clothes in it, then grabbed some toothpaste and their tooth brushes. He slung the bag on his back and headed back out. He walked down the road and decided to stop by Aoi’s place to check on his brother. He knocked on the door and waited for the raven to open. The captain smiled when he saw his friend at his door.

“Come in. Is Ruki doing better?”

“Much. I went to grab us some clothes. I decided to check on Reita while I was by.” Kai said stepping in.

“Well, he’s still asleep. You can see him though. He’s in my room.”

“Your room?”

Aoi smiled nervously. “Yeah, he kind of had a nightmare last night and refused to be alone. So he kind of slept with me in bed.”

“Bed?”

“Don’t be angry! I didn’t do anything I swear!”

“He actually slept in a bed?”

“Well um…yeah.”

Kai walked to the captain’s room and sure enough, found the blonde sleeping in bed. His arms and legs were spread out, the blanket was covering only half of him and on one arm was hugging a pillow. “He seems comfortable.”

“I think he overcame something last night.” Aoi said softly. “More than his fear of beds I mean. Maybe a part of his past?”

“I don’t care. As long as he becomes happy, I don’t care about his past.”

“Don’t lie. We both know that if you found out, you would go berserk.”

The brunette laughed. “Yeah, you’re right. Oh well. I should let him rest. I’ll come back when Ruki’s out. Then I’ll cook us all a big dinner.”

“Sounds good!” Aoi laughed, closing the door.

~          Kai went up the hospital elevator with a smile plastered to his face. His brother sleeping reminded him of a goofy friend. He walked out to Ruki’s room where he found the chestnut still sound asleep. He sat the bag aside and sat down in the chair beside the bed. He grabbed an apple out of the basket on the table and a knife to start peeling it. He looked over as Ruki lightly snored, making him laugh a bit. He looked out at the blue sky as he was taken back.

            _The small brunette opened his eyes several hours after the cars left. He sat up and looked around to find his parents’ bodies laying on the ground, dead. He sniffled, but forced himself up. He had to stay strong, he had to get his brother back. He ran inside, up to his room and grabbed a camping bag. He placed three days worth of clothes in it. He grabbed his toothbrush, all the toothpaste, shampoo, body wash in the house and stuffed it in his bag. He grabbed the locket on his nightstand and put it on his neck before grabbing the bag and heading downstairs. He placed as much food in the bag as he could. He filled all the pockets, then headed to the living room, where he grabbed a family photo and stuck it in his pants pocket. He put his shoes on, lifted the heavy bag on his back, and opened the back door. He walked up to the hill and looked back at the house. He turned his head, swearing to never look back there again, to never return unless this place was freed. He started walking to the outer wall where his first challenged awaited. Escaping._

_Making it to the wall was the first step, the second was to get through and away from it without being noticed. Every two miles, there’s a door to access the wall during emergencies. You have to have a key, but all guards carried a key. It wasn’t too hard for him to wait for one walk by and knock him out. He searched the woman and got what he was looking for. He smiled when he unlocked the door and went through it. Inside was large and he could hear several people talking. He looked to find to guys talking a meters away. He quietly walked to the door on the opposite side and unlocked it. He looked at the men, who had not noticed him, then opened the door and slipped out. He carefully shut it, then took off running hoping to jump into some bushes, but that hope soon died when he realized a very important detail he was never told about the outside. It was a desert. Plain and simple. Sand, sand and more sand. He swallowed hard, but he had to move forward. He has no idea where they took his brother, but he had to start somewhere. Getting away from there was probably the best since he no longer had any parents, but the desert probably wasn’t the best of places to be at._

_“I have to tough it out.” He sighed and started walking._

_Days have passed since he left home. He’s down to last bottle of water, his feet are killing him from all the walking, and the sun was showing no mercy on his body. He started kicking the sand as he dragged his feet and hung his head. He was wondering aimlessly at this point. The only thoughts in his head were of water and shade. He gripped his locket as he fell to his knees and started crying. He wanted to go home. He wanted his parents. He wanted to be fed, tucked in bed, play with his brother in the backyard and just go back to normal. He wanted to get out of the heat, the sand, and dry air. The last bit of water in his body dripped out of his eyes. He was crying and screaming, but only a few drops came out. His body was hurting from the sun. He had wrapped his clothes around his skin the moment he realized how hot it was out here, how deadly it was. It saved him from sun poison, but he still had a bit of a burn. After he stopped trying to cry, he realized his fingers were grazing the sand.  He contemplated about eating it since most of his food has gone bad from the heat. The taste of sand wasn’t very appealing and he didn’t think he could digest it. He sighed and looked at his locket. He opened it to see his brother’s smiling face. Kai clenched his hand around and stood up. He had to save his brother, but before that, he had to save himself. He started walking again, his feet was sinking into the sand, making it hard for him to walk, but he pushed forward, that is, until he lost his balance and rolled down dune hill. He yelled as he rolled down fast and hard until he slid on his back to a stop. He whimpered as he looked up at the sky._

_“Why?” He whimpered. “Why is this happening? Why did they take my brother? Why did they kill my parents? Why…why?”_

_He screamed as he punched and kicked the sand. He turned over on his knees and started punching as hard as he could in the rough grains. He stopped when he saw blood spots forming and soaking up the sand. He looked at his raw knuckles then up as he yelled out. That’s when his eyes caught sight of something. He squinted his eyes, trying to make out what it was, but it was too far away. He stood up and started walking towards it. Really, at this point, he didn’t care what it was. If it meant shelter, great; water, better; people, safety. Whatever it was, he wanted to get to it._

_Step after painful step, the young boy got closer to his destination. He dropped his head as his body swayed in the heat. If he could make it there, he could finally rest. He moved his tongue around his mouth trying to get some form of liquid down his dry throat, but even that was limited. He stared at the ground as he walked, thinking of the days when he  and his brother played pranks on the neighbors and got in trouble for it. He laughed at the memory, though it was only a few weeks ago. He smiled, but when he slammed into something, he yelped and fell down. He rubbed his face and looked up to find himself under the shade of a tree. A smile formed on his face and he stood up to look around. The area had six palm trees with shorter trees beside them and bushes below them. In the center of it almost made Yutaka cry. A spring. The young boy yelled with joy as he ran to it and dove in. He cupped his hands and drunk a few mouthfuls before just sitting in the water for a bit to cool off. He finally got up and walked under a tree where he dropped his bag and took everything off except his pants. He got too excited, so now his clothes were all muddy and wet. He didn’t really care though. He looked over to find a orange-ish, fuzzy ball hanging from one of the shorter trees. His mouth watered when he realized that it was a peach. He grabbed it and didn’t hesitant to bite into it. The juices filled his mouth along with the sweet taste of the fruit. He took large bites to finish it up, before grabbing two more and sitting under a tree to relax._

_Two weeks had passed since he made it to the spring. He kept track of the days by scratching a mark into one of the trees. He was living off the spring water and peaches the whole time. He used his clothes and one of the shorter trees to make a small tent for him. At night, he had broken off branches and dried them out to create a fire. He was able to catch some snakes and lizards, then taught himself how to cook them. Other than that, he really didn’t know what else to do. He wanted to look for his brother, but he didn’t know where to start, he didn’t even remember which way he came from. This place had food and water, but he knew it wouldn’t last him forever. He knew he had to leave soon. He started wrapping his body in his clothes again, then packed his bag with as many peaches as possible and filled up all his water bottles. He grabbed some branches and attached them to his bag. He decided to take a quick break before he headed out and sat down in front of a tree. Eating a peach, he looked at the picture of him and his brother again. He sighed as he clenched it._

_“I can’t cry. I can’t.” He whispered. He finished the peach and planted the seed. Before he could grab his bag however, he heard a strange sound. It was almost like an engine, but it was loud and coming closer. He was contemplating on grabbing his bag and running, but then the thought that it could be people crossed his mind. He stood next to the trees and looked at where the sound was coming from. Suddenly a  large truck drove over the dune and was followed by two others. Kai whimpered and hid behind a tree as they quickly came closer. They slid to a stop when they came to the area and the engines turned off. A few people stepped out of each truck. They walked to water and looked around._

_“The peaches have gone down.” A woman spoke up. She had short brown hair, she was thin, but her arms looked like pure muscle. Her face seemed flawless, she was very beautiful, and her skin was a nice healthy tone. She was shorter than most of them, but she seemed to have been in charge._

_“Only you would notice that Mika.” A man laughed and she laughed too._

_“Let’s hurry it up.” She shouted. Another man got into a truck and turned it to show a tank on the bed of it. It backed up to the water where the other grabbed a hose and placed it in the water. The woman flipped the switch and it started sucking water from the spring.  She walked towards where Yutaka was hiding and picked a peach from the tree. She took a bite and looked down. She blinked before she yelped, scaring the young boy and making him run out of his hiding place. He looked ahead to find two men trying to catch him, but he slid to a stop and turned to another direction._

_“Wait, kid.”_

_“Slow down.”_

_“We’re not going to hurt you.”_

_He didn’t listen, he just kept running, dodging the people until finally the woman tackled him to the ground._

_“Get off me!” He yelled._

_“Hey calm down a bit.” She said softly._

_“No! I’m not going back, now let me go! I’ll kill you if you don’t let me go!”_

_“Whoa, now those are some dangerous word to be shouting.” Another woman walked up. She had blondish red hair that was braided back._

_“We won’t hurt you.” The woman, Mika, said softly as she sat up. Yutaka sat up and slid back a little. “I’m Mika, what’s your name?”_

_The boy looked at her. “Will you take me to my brother?”_

_“Well…where is he?”_

_“I don’t know. People took him away and killed my parents.” He looked down trying to hold back his tears._

_“Where are you from?” She asked, petting his head._

_“The kingdom, neighborhood twelve.”_

_The people looked at each, but the woman caught their attention. “What are you doing way out here?”_

_“I wanted to save my brother. I just wanted to save my brother!” The boy cried out as he hugged the woman. She petted his head and hugged him._

_“There, there. You’re safe now. We’ll help look for your brother.”_

_The brunette clenched her shirt as he continued to cry on her shoulder. “Y-Yutaka. My name is Yutaka.” He muttered, but he stayed there, letting out all his pent up emotions._

            _The young boy opened his eyes to find himself laying a bed in a strange, dark room. He could hear people talking and a light coming from under the door. He slid out of the bed and walked tiredly to the door. Opening it, he found the room down the hall was the source of the light. He could hear the woman’s voice from it. He walked down the hall to find her, two men and another woman, the blonde from earlier. The men looked familiar too, they were at the spring earlier._

_“Mika.” He mumbled, rubbing his eye. She turned and smiled as she stood up._

_“You’re finally awake? Are you hungry?” She kneeled in front of him._

_He looked down. “Where am I?”_

_“In a village. In the neutral zone. You don’t have to worry about the Rebellion nor the Kingdom coming here. Now Yutaka, are you hungry? I can make you something.”_

_He shrugged his shoulders. “I guess.”_

_“Okay, why don’t you get acquainted with everyone while I do that.”_

_He watched as she disappeared behind a wall, then he turned to see three smiling faces. The blonde woman stood up and walked over. “I’m Asuka, Mika’s cousin. This my husband John.” She pointed to a man with short black hair that was sitting on the couch beside the other man. He had long hair though and a square jaw, while John had a oval jaw line. John was more lean while the other was built, and it looked like he was taller._

_“I’m Tadao.” The man with the square jaw said. “I’m Mika’s husband.”_

_“And I’m Daisuke!” A boy his age came from behind the chair Asuka was sitting in._

_“Daisuke! You’re supposed to be in bed.” the blonde woman snapped._

_“But he’s up.” The boy whined._

_“Yutaka, Daisuke, come and eat.” Mika said as she placed two plates on the table. “It’s just peanut butter, but that should hold you until morning.”_

_The boy ran to the table, so Yutaka made his over and sat down. He grabbed the sandwich and slowly ate it as his savior watched with a smile. “What?”_

_She looked at her hands. “How would you like to stay here? You’re too young to go off traveling by yourself. You need a home and I’ll take care of you.”_

_“I have to find my brother. I can’t.”_

_“Well, you certainly can’t survive out there on your own. We can train you here. We can teach you to protect yourself. So when you’re ready, you can go find your brother, then you can bring him back here and he’ll have a place to live too.”_

_He looked down, then at the others in the room. He remembered what happened at his home. He was weak and couldn’t even take one soldier down. Then he was knocked out in one kick. He looked at the sandwich. Food, he would have food and shelter and he would be taught all he needed in fighting someone. He looked up at Mika. “Ok.”_

_“Yutaka, I know this may sound weird, but I think you should change your name.” Asuka spoke up._

_“Why?”_

_“So the people who took your brother, don’t find you.” Mika said calmly._

_“I like my name.” Yutaka whimpered._

_“We know, but it’s for the best.”_

_“What will it be?”_

_The woman smiled. “How about…Kai?”_

_For five years, Kai lived with Mika, learning how to defend himself, cook, and take care of others. Daisuke, Asuka’s son, became his best friend and they were inseparable. If there was one, then the other wasn’t too far behind. They watched each other’s back , they took care of each other, they did everything together. When one is sick, the other stays and takes care of him. When one goes away from the village, the other sneaks his way out to help. Almost nothing could separate them._

_“Hey, what do you think, Kai?” Daisuke smiled as he pointed at his freshly dyed hair. The brunette stopped stirring the food on the stove and raised a brow._

_“Dude, your mom is going to kill you.”_

_“Aww, she’ll be fine with it. She dyes hers all the time. So what are you making?”_

_“Food.”_

_“Really? I couldn’t tell.” The red head wrapped his arm around his friend. “Is it almost done? I’m starving!”_

_“Yes, go sit down.”_

_“So I caught Ren and that one kid making out earlier.”_

_“That one kid?” Kai giggled._

_“You know who.” His friend said sitting at the table. “Anyways, it was pretty hot. They were about to do it, but they got caught.”_

_“Pervert.”_

_Daisuke laughed and waited for his meal to be placed in front of him. Kai sat down and was about to start when his friends grabbed his arm. “Hey, have you ever kissed anyone before?”_

_The brunette rolled his eyes. “You’d know if I did.”_

_“True,” He looked at his friend. “Have you ever wanted to kiss someone, just to kiss?”_

_Kai scratched his head. “Yeah kind of, but you know…”_

_“Then let’s kiss.”_

_“Eh?”_

_“Well, you want to kiss someone and I’m in a kissing mood, so why not?”_

_Kai looked down, blushing.“Wouldn’t it be weird, kissing your best friend?”_

_“Nah, we’re just experimenting.” Daisuke lifted his friend’s chin and moved closer. “What do you say?”_

_“I don’t think…I have much choice.” The brunette mumbled as his friend pressed their lips together. It was subtle at first, but then the redhead pulled the younger more into it. He forced his tongue into Kai’s mouth and took control. They were breathing hard as the kiss got rougher. Daisuke gripped the brunette’s shoulders and lifted him from the chair before pushing him into the nearby wall. Kai grunted but started kissing back as their hands intertwined. The redhead had his other hand gripping his friend’s hair as the brunette clutched Daisuke’s shirt. Kai started moaning as the moment started to get intense. Then suddenly, the red head gently pulled off, leaving his friend licking the air for a moment. Kai opened his eyes and stared deep into his friend’s. Both of their face were red, their hearts pounding, and their minds hazy, at least, Kai’s was._

_Daisuke pulled away, leaving his friend on the wall. He scrunched his face up. “Ewe!”_

_Kai gasped. “Was I that bad?”_

_“Eh? No, for someone whose never kissed, you’re hell of a kisser. Don’t tell me you liked kissing me.”_

_The brunette blushed and looked away. “I uh…no, I mean…”_

_The red head gave a small smiled. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know. I didn’t think you’d keep something like that from me.”_

_Kai felt his eyes water up. “I-it’s okay.”_

_“No it’s not! I just fucking played with you like that! It’s not okay…”_

_“You didn’t know that I was gay. It’s okay.”_

_“This won’t change anything between us right?” Daisuke asked. “I mean, I don’t care if you are. You’re my best friend, I’m not gonna hate for your sexuality or for liking me, but I mean, you do know I don’t run that way right? I know I kissed you and all, but that was just for fun.”_

_“I know.” Kai smiled. “And don’t worry about me liking you that way, because I don’t. You’re like a brother to me.”_

_The red head smiled, but then made a foul face. “Oh my God! I just kissed my brother!” He continued to make puking noises, which made Kai laugh wholeheartedly. “No wonder you’re good at cooking!”_

_“I’m good because Mika taught me. She tried to teach you too you know.”_

_“Meh, I didn’t want to learn. Still don’t, but um…Kai, why are you still calling her Mika. I mean she’s been like a mom to you. You are like her son, at least that’s how she sees it.”_

_The brunette sighed as he sat down. “I know, but she’s not my mother. We’ve talked about this and we both understand. She could never replace my real mother, even though I love Mika like a second mom. I accept being her child since…since she can’t have children. Sh-she didn’t want to replace my mom anyways.”_

_Daisuke shook his head, taking a bite of his food. “How has she been? I mean, since Tadao’s death.”_

_Kai sighed. “She’s gotten better. She’s still depressed, but she’s slowly getting better.”_

_“Good. You know, that was that first time I saw her cry.”The red head sighed. “I don’t want to see her cry. I don’t want to see you or mom cry either. Never do I want to see you cry.”_

_The next morning Kai woke up on the couch and stretched as he got up. He walked to his bedroom to wake up his friend, who was sprawled all over the bed. The blanket covering half his body and one arm was hugging a pillow. He smiled as he ran and jumped on the bed._

_“Time to wake up!” Kai laughed as he rolled on the grunting redhead. Daisuke quickly grabbed his friend and rolled on top of him, pinning him to the mattress._

_“You’re never gonna beat me, even when I’m asleep.”_

_Kai smiled as he raised up and kissed his friend, shocking him. The brunette quickly turned the tables and flipped him over pinning him. “Oh really?”_

_“You cheated.”_

_“Time for breakfast.” Mika had walked in. “Daisuke, your mom wants to see after you eat so hurry up.”_

_They quickly got out of bed and raced to the dining table while their meal awaited them. It was the usual morning of them horse playing as they ate and Mika just sat with a content smile on her face. Soon, their morning was interrupted with a man screaming as he ran down the road._

“They’re coming! Get you weapons, the Kingdom soldiers are coming!”

_Mika jumped to her feet and ran down the hall to the closet to pull out her shot gun. She quickly loaded it before loading two pistols and handing them the boys. She hand them both a box of ammo and rubbed their faces._

_“Stay out of site. Only use these if you’re threatened.”She kissed both of their foreheads._

_“But Mika!” Kai yelped, but she ran out the door. Daisuke started towards it. “Where are you going?”_

_“I have to get to mom, she may need me.”_

_“Wait I’m coming with you.”Kai said, but before they could make it to the door, the sounds of screams and rapid gunfire filled the air. They looked at each other, but took a deep breath and stepped outside. People were running form trucks with soldiers in them, shooting. Villagers were taken down quickly by the machine guns. The redhead grabbed Kai’s arm and pulled him out the door as they ran through the gun fire. Kai followed until he saw a young girl holding her teddy bear crying on the ground. He quickly stopped and went to her._

_“Go inside and hide ok.” He ordered. She shook her head and stood up to run in. Daisuke turned when he saw his friend gone, but saw him pointing a little girl to a house. He looked over to see a soldier taking aim at the brunette and he ran._

“Kai!” _the brunette turned to see a machine gun pointed at him, but as he heard it firing, all he saw was his friend’s back. He quickly pulled out his gun and shot the soldier right in the head before he could shoot again. Kai looked down and whimpered. He moved his shaky hands over the torn body, but couldn’t put his hands down. He cried out looking at his friend’s mangled body, but moved his hand to lift the other’s head up._

_“D-Daisuke?”_

_His friend opened his eyes and smiled. “I-I’m glad…you…you’re okay. Hey, d-don’t cry. I…don’t like seeing…you cry.”_

_“You protected me. Why?” Kai screamed “Why did you save me?”_

_Daisuke placed his bloody hand on the brunette’s cheek. “I guess it’s cause…I loved you…a little more…than just…a-a brother.” He smiled as his hand dropped. “Take…take care.”_

_“No…no, no, no. You can’t leave Daisuke! I already lost Akira! Don’t’ leave me too!” Kai screamed, but his friend’s eyes were closed, his breathing stopped, and his life was gone. The brunette’s pupils shrunk and red veins webbed to them. He put his arms under his friend and lifted him up. He ran as fast as he could, as hard as he could. Bullet’s grazing his body didn’t stop him, he kept going all the way to Daisuke’s home. The door was open, so he ran straight in and with a strangled cry, he called for his friend’s parents. He walked to the redhead’s room and laid him on the bed. He moved the hair out of Daisuke’s face and leaned over to kiss his lips. He sniffled as he pulled away and slowly walked to the living room, but a puddle of blood caught his attention. He walked over to find both parents lying on the kitchen floor, their bodies filled with bullet holes. He grabbed his head and screamed out as he walked to the door. He looked out to find the chaos gone. Trucks leaving, but men were going around, shooting survivors._

_“Kai!”_

_The brunette looked over to find Mika running to him with a bloodied arm. He shook as he stepped towards her. She was only six feet away, six feet and they would have hugged, but then, a shot sounded. Kai’s eye widen when he saw blood splatter to the side as a bullet shot through the side of her head. He looked over at the soldier and screamed as his body was filled rage. He felt power run through his veins. Everything was so much quicker. He ran faster, his aim was more accurate, his strength intensified. He easily took out soldiers with just a punch to their face or neck. As they ran to him, he would dodged them and get behind them to break their necks. Everything happened so quickly for him that he barely had any time to think until there was no one left. He was standing alone, circled by dead bodies. His own body shook as his eyes returned to normal and his legs gave out from under him. He laid there, whimpering on his stomach._

_“Daisuke. Mika.” He cried as he passed out._

_He was in a trance. He could hear someone talking to him. He felt his head being lifted and he opened his eyes on instinct. He gripped the shirt the raven haired man was wearing and whimpered. “They killed everybody. Mika, Daisuke, Asuka, and John.  Why did they kill them?_ They saved me and those bastards killed them! _So I killed the soldiers. All the ones that hadn’t been killed. All the ones who didn’t leave. I killed them.”_

_The raven smiled down at him. “I’m Aoi, from the main Rebellion city. I’m going to help you. You’re safe now.”_

_The brunette closed his eyes. “She named me…Kai.”He whispered before passing out._

_He woke later in a white room on a soft bed. He sat up and rubbed his eyes as he looked around. It was a strange place._

_“You’re up.” The raven form earlier was standing at the door._

_“You…you saved me. Where are we?” Kai asked._

_“The Rebellion’s main city. I’m Aoi by the way, in case you forgot.” He smiled. “I remembered your name Kai, so don’t worry.”_

_The brunette looked out the window. “They killed everyone. Daisuke.”_

_“I know. You weren’t from that village were you?”_

_Kai shook his head. “How did you know?”_

_“We ran some tests on you. Found a few things.”_

_“Like what?”_

_Aoi sighed as he sat down. “Your muscles were enhanced. So were your organs and skin. Your blood had something in it that we couldn’t identify. The small scars on your body show that you were experimented on.”_

_“Experiment?” Kai mumbled. “I knew I was being injected with something, but …”_

_“It’s okay. You don’t have to think about it now. Really you should be getting more rest. So lay back down. You’ve had it rough. We’ll talk more some other time.”_

_The brunette agreed that he was tired and so he laid back down. He was drained physically and mentally._

~          Kai peeled the last bit of skin off the apple and tossed it into the trash. He sliced the fruit into a few pieces and took a bite. Chewing it made his mouth fill with juices and the memory of the peaches sunk in. He looked at the sky to see the last bit of rain on the window being dried up by the sun. He smiled and looked up at the sky.

“Are you watching over me Daisuke? I know you are. Your with Mika, Asuka, John, Tadao, mom and dad too. You’re all looking after us now right? Daisuke, I hope you forgive me for loving Ruki. He brings me the same happiness you did. Don’t worry, I’ll always love you, but more like a brother than anything else.” Kai smiled as he saw a Cardinal fly on the window sill. “Yeah, you’re watching me. Watch over Ruki too, would you. It would mean a lot.”

The bird twitched it’s wings and pecked on the window before it flew off to its tree.


End file.
